Rabbit Heart
by i-am-walrus
Summary: “But ‘Alice In Wonderland’ is just a children’s book!” Alice Reid has been transported into Wonderland after falling into a mirror that was anonymously delivered to her shop. Now she has to find her way back before Wonderland kills her. Hatter/Alice
1. Bourgeois Shangrila

**Intro:**

**This should be the only 'Authors Note' kind of thing in the story, unless there is needed information that I haven't included or didn't want to interrupt the story for.**

**Anyway, the main aspect of the story is a modern version of Alice in Wonderland, using influences from different interpretations and songs. For a full list, look on my profile. If you have any criticisms about the story please review or PM me so I can improve it. Please note this is the first chapter so may be a bit short and doesn't give a lot of info but that is the point. Everything will be explained later on. **

**On another note, please enjoy and review if you either want to or have criticism. But please don't leave flames that are just use less and annoying. If you're going to flame at least tell me why you hate it and how I can improve it. **

**Thanks.**

**_i-am-walrus_**

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

_What is it that is deaf, dumb and blind and always tells the truth?_

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The mirror was antique; she could guess that much from the ornate design of the frame. Fruits, plants and strange grinning creatures curled around each other were carved into the wooden frame, stained a burnt copper colour.

It was also huge. It was a miracle that she had been able to carry it in by herself. With the pavement outside covered with ice and snow, and her black trainers that no longer had any tread what so ever, she was surprised that she hadn't slipped or dropped the mirror. She didn't need the 'seven years bad luck' joke hanging over her head for the next month.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Alice Reid let out an exhausted sigh. Her face flushed from the physical labour and the sudden change from the bitter wind outside to the warmth of her shop. Alice wouldn't have been surprised if she looked like Rudolph. It would be fitting for the time of year. With only a week left to Christmas, she'd been out getting some last minute shopping when she'd arrived back to see the mirror sitting at her door. All it said on the note attached was to not lean on it.

The mirror truly was beautiful, it was a wonder that anyone would want to get rid of it in the first place. Yet, here it was, a perfect mirror to add to her stock. Though how the donator even knew she was opening a mirror shop she had no idea.

_Probably a friend of mum's._ Alice decided, turning from her reflection into the main store. She hadn't even named the place yet and she already had her mum telling people about it.

Her shop looked like something from a horror movie, even she could admit that. She'd only moved in two weeks ago and focused on her apartment above the shop more than the shop itself. She told herself that it was because her mum was coming over for Christmas and her mum had a tendency to be overly critical. Yet, she knew that the real reason was that she was having difficulty thinking of a name. Everything she came up with seemed cheesy to her and without a name she couldn't exactly open shop. So far, all she'd done was clean the thick layer of dusk and grime that had developed on every surface from the year of being empty and moved all her stock into the back room. The clocks where sitting in boxes, carefully wrapped in bubble wrap. They were antiques and she didn't want them breaking or getting chewed by Dinah. All the mirrors she currently had were covered with blankets after being taken out on the day she arrived. They leaned against columns and walls, the only thing actually on the shop floor. Now she'd have to go and get another cover for the new one.

A meow from upstairs reminded her that she had defrosting shopping upstairs and a bag that had fallen still lying on the sidewalk.

The salt she'd poured onto the path outside her door had started to take effect, melting the ice and making it safer for her to walk over.

"Alice! How are you love?" asked Mrs Canavan, a batty old lady who let cats in and out of her apartment as they pleased. She was a nice lady, treated Alice as if she was still a kid, bringing her sweets and giving Dinah a new toy or treat every couple of days. She lived in the next building to the right of Alice's building. Alice's shop was on the street corner, yet Mrs Canavan was the only neighbour she'd met so far and no one lived in the building to her left.

"I'm good Mrs Canavan. A bit bitter outside today." She commented. After talking to her for two weeks almost every day, Alice discovered that the best thing to do with Mrs Canavan was to make small talk. Sooner or later it would reminded her that she'd forgotten something, sending her running into the house.

"Ah, that it is. There hasn't been a winter like this for a long time. Must be some misbalance in nature." She though aloud, looking up to the sky as if it held all her answers. On top of being a batty old lady, she was also a nature lover. Apparently, she dabbled in Wicca in her younger days, she didn't keep it up but still watched over nature like a doting mother. If she saw a plant that was dying in a window she would either (a) take it from the window sill if the window was open- Alice had seen her do this several times, or (b) knock on the door and tell the owner to either water it or give it to her. Not many people reacted well to that though. Alice smiled at the lady before remembering the mirror.

"By the way, did you see anyone dropping off a mirror earlier? Did they leave a message?" Alice asked, picking up the Granny Smiths that had rolled out of their bag. Mrs Canavan shook her head sadly.

"No dear. I've been at the park most of the day." She replied.

"Too bad. It was really pretty and I was hoping to thank the person who gave it to me." Mrs Canavan nodded softly.

"Well I hope you find you're mystery donator. When are you planning on opening shop?"Alice laughed, picking up the last piece of food that had fallen.

"As soon as I think of a name." She smiled, standing.

"Well, as soon as you do I'll be you're first customer. I've had my eye on that clock that lady donated last week." Alice laughed again as she opened her door with her foot.

"I'll hold it back for you. Bye Mrs Canavan."

"Bye dear. And say hello to Dinah for me!"

Chuckling as she closed the door, the bell above her twinkling as Alice made her way up to her apartment. She made a good choice moving here. Even if the state of the place wasn't totally pleasant.

Defrosting groceries sat on her kitchen worktop, melted ice dripping onto the floor to mark the beginning of a puddle. A long haired tortoise shell cat stalked in between the bags, meowing at Alice as she walked into the kitchen.

"You hungry kitty?" Alice asked her, petting it softly as she reached out to paw at her knitted coral coloured poncho and meowed again, its large eyes pleading.

"I know, I know. I'll get your food in a minute." Alice said, placing the other shopping on the worktop beside her.

As her cat, Dinah, sat eating her food that Alice had just placed out, Alice went to putting her shopping away, ticking everything off in her head.

_Present for Mum. _

_Check._

_Present for Charlotte._

_Check._

_Mini-Christmas tree._

_Check._

_Cashew Nut Roast to force down mum's neck._

_Check._

She really needed to convince her mum that being a vegetarian didn't make you a less healthy person.

_But you're missing out on vitamins!_

She also needed to stop reciting her mum when she thought of her. A crash followed her thoughts only seconds after, causing her to jump slightly and turn, hand to mouth.

What on earth...

Dinah - who was usually totally docile and lazy to even bother with a mouse- was sitting at the edge of the counter, ignoring her food and moving her tail from side to side in a hypnotic motion as she growled.

On the floor lay a couple of broken plates, along with several damp tea towels that had been hanging up to dry. Letting out a sigh of relief – as she had feared the worse, something along the lines of axe-murderer – Alice shook her head, feeling stupid.

_It's just a couple plates, Alice. No. Need. To...Panic?_

Her personal thoughts where once again interrupted by the seemingly inanimate pile of tea towels wriggling, before moving across the floor to the stairs.

"You better not have invited one of your 'friends' in again Dinah." Alice scolded, following the moving tea towel, but it was gaining speed, going so fast that Alice had to begin running to keep up with it.

"Hey! Wait!" What possessed her to call out to a tea towel, she wasn't sure but it was sure better than nothing.

Finally, Alice saw she'd trapped it up against the new mirror. There was no way it could....

No way....

Suddenly, without any warning, the runaway tea towel disappeared through the mirror. At least that's what it looked like....

_Stop being silly Alice._ She scolded herself. _There is no way a tea towel could just disappear. Now go and look behind the mirror._

Alice nodded shamefully at her inner voice's scolding as she walked over to the mirror. It looked solid.

_Of course it is. It's just a mirror. _

Yeah, just a mirror.

"Hm, I don't see anything." Alice sighed leaning against the mirror pane. "Mayb- Whoa!" Suddenly, there was nothing behind her. Her first thought was, 'oh damn it, I've broken the mirror!', but that theory was soon forgotten as she began falling.

And falling.

And falling.

And falling.

It never really occurred to her that a mirror shouldn't do this, not until she hit the ground. And even then, that thought only lasted a couple of seconds as the impact on her head quickly caused her to pass out.

Well...at least she didn't break the mirror.


	2. Wonderlander

_A mirror_

_x-x-x-x-x-x-x_

_If there are three cups of sugar and you take one away, how many do you have?_

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Alice deducted that she must have hit her head or at least passed out, for her eyesight was foggy and every muscle felt like it was shaking, as if getting over the flu. Her head ached, a numb pain at the back that felt more like dehydration that an actual headache. Rubbing the back of her head she began blinking slowly to disperse the fog that covered her eyes and take away the pain.

From what she could see through the fog, she was in what looked like an office. Pictures hung on the wall, and it was only when the fog lifted that she could see they were mostly menus and art nouveau posters. A floor to ceiling bookcase decorated the right side of the room, while the left was covered in cabinets full of vials of different shapes, sizes and colours. A desk sat at the end of the room, right in front of where she lay on an armchair with a coral coloured coat over her. A large white chair, like the ones seen in the movies that belonged to the 'boss', sat behind the desk facing away from her.

Frowning in both confusion and worry Alice pushed the coat over her away and stood. It looked like no one was in. Whoever owned the place was either very stupid or very trusting, which Alice also considered a stupid trait.

The vials were what interested her the most. Her mother being a Pharmacist made her interested in chemicals, yet none of them looked remotely similar. Winter Whispers, Cherry Blossom, White Peony with Pink Rosebuds, Blue Sky, Angel Peach. All of these sounded like tea, apart from the Rosebud one, that just sounded odd.

"Have some wine." A voice said from the chair behind the desk, taking her off guard. She thought she was the only one in here. "Clear your head." She couldn't see who the voice belonged to, only a hand waving aimlessly in her direction.

"I don't see any wine." Alice stated, confused. She'd seen some strange sounding concoctions but wine hadn't been on the list.

"That's because cause there isn't any." The man said as if it was stupid for her to even have said anything.

"Well it wasn't very civil for you to offer it if you didn't have any." Alice said angrily. What was with this guy?

"I didn't offer it. I said have some wine. Never did I say I had any." She could practically see his eyes rolling at her, as if he'd never said anything about wine. "Anyway," he changed his tune, turning in his chair so Alice could finally put a face to the voice. "It wasn't very civil of **you** to appear in my Tea Shop without being invited now was it?"He questioned, as he took a sip of black tea with a smirk. He was a young looking man, from middle to late twenties. His eyes where a pale green, black hair stuck out from a brown fedora hat on his head and a slight stubble grew on his pale cheeks. However, Gok Wan or Trinny and Susannah would have a heart attack if they saw what he was wearing. The brown fedora hat adorned his head had what looked like a dark pink or magenta ribbon around the base, keeping a tag with 10/6 written on it in place. His shirt looked like one of those tacky ones a British tourist would wear in Spain, or something The Joker would find appealing, an orange and purple patterned number. His waistcoat was a mossy green object, yet it did go with everything else he wore. His dark jeans where ripped and looked as if they'd been fixed with random pieces of fabric he'd found lying around.

"W-well..." she stuttered, rather taken aback at his appearance and ridiculous statements. "I don't know how I got here but -." Alice froze, frowning as she looked around, seriously confused. "I've-." She mumbled. "I've heard this... conversation before." Her voice was soft as the gears began turning in her head.

It couldn't be.

"Of course you would. This conversation has been written down before after all." The hatted man stated. Quickly he gulped down the last of his tea that was in a see-though cup and stood, walking over to the other cabinet of vials behind him. Alice however was ignoring him, trying to think everything through. There was no way this could be happening.

_I must have hit my head harder than I thought._

"Who are you?" she asked softly, watching him carefully. He looked up to her, as if just realising she was there then bowed lavishly.

"They call me Hatter. Please to meet you Miss...?" He questioned, standing straight now and holding out a hand as if he would grab her name as soon as she said it.

Alice paused for a minute, should she?

"Alice." She stated, cautiously. Alice could bet that she saw Hatter's smile widen into a grin, and not a comforting one at that.

"Well..." he chuckled as if at an inside joke. "Now that **is** funny." Shaking his head he turned back to the cabinet.

Getting rather freaked out, Alice took a couple of steps back before talking again.  
"Where am I? How did I get here?" she asked, unable to choose which one was more important. Hatter gave her a confused look.

"Well, I can't answer the second question because I truly have no clue, but," he started with a smile. "In answer to the first, you're in Wonderland." He stated, turning back to his work.

Great, just her luck to be helped by the nut case. She just stood there for a while, staring at him with mouth a gape until her brain began functioning again. Chuckling nervously, Alice stepped further back, trying to get as far away from him as possible.

"Yeah, of course. But I really need to get back home. If you could just tell me-" Hatter cut her off, sounding slightly irritated.

"I just told you. You're in Wonderland. Although-" He sang, walking out from behind the desk so he was now in front of her, a considering look on his face.

"You don't seem to be a Wonderlander." He thought aloud, starting to circle her with a curiosity that worried Alice. Creepy much?

"That's because I'm _not_ a...Wonderlander, I'm human just as you know you are and I would very much like to get home." Hatter continued to circle her, like he was checking her out, making goose bumps form on her arms. "Ugh! And will you stop circling me!" she stated more than asked, waving her hands at him as to stop him from getting too close. "What where you, some sort of vulture in another life?" Hatter watched her with amusement as she spoke, not really taking in anything she was saying after human.

"Well, well, well. A human are you? I don't believe we've had a human here for a _very_ long time." His grin was cocky, eyes full of humour. He was enjoying this. Alice however was close to hitting him over the head. Who did he think he was? Yes, she was in _his_ Tea Shop – apparently, yet he seemed more like a mental patient than a shop owner- but she didn't ask to be helped or for him to do anything, all she wanted was directions and so far he seemed too incompetent to even do that.

"Look. I don't know where I am or who you are-"

"I _just_ told you, they call me Hatter." He stated, interrupting her.

"I don't care! I just want to know where I am and how to get home." Hatter was silent, staring at her with curious eyes.

"I like you." He said after a couple of minutes silence, a grin spreading across his face. Spinning on his heels – purple leather shoes, why wasn't she surprised? - Hatter walked over to the cabinet covered in vials on the left side of the room. "So I'll help." He said, searching through the vials for something, obviously having not found it in the one behind his desk.

"But I've already told you where you are, twice in fact. All we have to work on is getting _you_ to believe it." He pointed at her with a red filled vial. Alice watched Hatter with dead set eyes, thinking everything through in her head.

She had two choices.

One, go along with what the nut-case was saying and ditch him the minute she knew how to get home. Or two, run like hell and don't look back. In her mind two seemed like a brighter option, yet she knew that she was lost. She needed at least some help and at least he was willing to help. The only problem was whether or not he could actually **be** any help.

"Fine." She sighed, getting Hatter's attention. "If I'm really in Wonderland...how did I...get here?" she asked. Hatter chuckled and walked over to his desk again, his walk reminding her of the stuck up play boys that used to chat her up. "Used to" as she now pretended to be mute when any came over. It worked rather well actually.

"Now that," he stated, collapsing down into his chair. "Is the million dollar question." Pouring the red powder into a clean cup, his eyes met hers again, face a mask of thought and confusion.

"You must have come from the Looking Glass somehow." He though out-loud, rather irritated that he couldn't figure it out. "There's no other **way** someone like **you** could get here."

"What do you mean someone like me?" Alice asked with slight amusement in her voice.

"An air-breather." Alice just stared at him, making him sigh as if **she** was the one who was impossible to work with. "A human." He stated. This didn't help Alice's perception of him. In fact the more he said the more tempting option two became, even if she was lost. She shook her head and looked away.

"I don't even want to know." She muttered. Seconds passed in silence as Alice thought and Hatter sipped his tea. Rather loudly in fact.

"Can you **stop** doing that?" she asked, turning to him. Hatter paused in mid sip, looking like he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"You're in **my**__tea__shop. I can do what I like." He replied, going back to sipping loudly. This time on purpose. Grinding her teeth together, Alice tried to think straight and not go over and strangle him. She **would** be helped by an obnoxious moron.

"Okay," she started, calmed down slightly, turning to Hatter. "If the only way I could get here was through the looking glass then it must be here...Right?" she asked, begging the answer was yes, but from his earlier statements she highly doubted it.

"That's the thing." He sighed, swirling the tea. "The Looking Glass is on the other **side** of Wonderland. I have no idea how you got here and getting to the Looking Glass is like trying to run away from a Jabberwock when both your legs are broken." Alice just stared at Hatter with a look of total confusion. She was sure he was speaking English – at least most of the time- yet half his statements where just ridiculous. Hatter noticed this look and said.

"Meaning it's impossible."

A crash from behind Alice followed Hatter's statement by seconds, causing her to jump and turn to face the door. Hatter on the other hand was totally calm, craning his neck slightly so he could see behind Alice who was blocking his view of the door. Even if she wasn't bad a view herself.

"Hatter! Hatter!" a voice Hatter recognised all too well called. Alice jumped back as the door slammed open, hitting the yellow painted wall and leaving a dent.

"Hatter!" the voice called again, running into the centre of the room, his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "You'll **never** guess what I just heard!" he exclaimed. Hatter's grin was wide and unmoving, finding amusement from Alice's reaction.

"A human has been transported to Wonderland?" Hatter stated, relaying it as a guess.

"Not even close! A human-" Marchy stopped mid sentence and stood straight, eyes accusing as he pointed at Hatter. "How did you know?" Marchy asked. Hatter motioned behind Marchy to where Alice stood, staring agape at the Hare in front of her.

The...creature in front of her – for she could think of no other name for it-was about the same size as a 5 foot man, and seemed to speak English yet it was not doubt a Hare. Brown fur, large ears, a tuff of longer hair between the ears and a white tail. However, she hadn't seen many hare's wearing a yellow waist coat and red three quarter jacket.

"I'm going mad." She whispered, leaning on the armchair she had woken up in. Hatter laughed, standing.

"Then you'll fit right in. We're all mad here." He stated as he walked over to the space between Alice and March. "And stop staring like that you'll make Marchy uncomfortable." He scolded. Alice did stop glaring at March Hare, now turning her attention to Hatter, not that he cared or minded. Marchy on the other hand was hysterical.

"You have an Oyster?! Here!? At the shop!?" He exclaimed, arms moving erratically from Alice to Hatter before he finally tugged his ears down to either side of his face. Hatter rolled his eyes in exasperation, seems like Marchy's yoga classes weren't working.

"Calm **down** Marchy! And we don't call them Oyster's any more. After the incident, remember?"he hinted, March not getting the hint at all.

"Why are you moving your eyes like that Hatter? Are you feeling okay? Don't tell me you accidentally drank toilet duck again." He tutted, Hatter letting out an irritated moan at March's ability to be dim one second and a genius the next, really it was almost impossible to explain anything to him.

Alice however, was close to hyperventilating. Alice had always prided herself in being level headed, never taking anything supernatural seriously. Horror movies never scared her, as she knew it would never happen. She didn't have nightmares and never cried about monsters under the bed. She never hallucinated like this.

"I'm going mad." She repeated. Hatter ignored her, instead continuing his conversation with March and knowing she'd calm down soon. Or at least hoping she would.

"Where's dormouse?" Hatter asked, trying to change the subject and ignore the pretty girl behind him.

"_Twinkle, twinkle little bat. How I wonder what you're at. Up above the world you fly, like a tea tray in the sky." _A small, high pitched yet tired voice mumbled, though Alice couldn't see where it was coming from until the Hare, Marchy, pulled a small honey coloured dormouse from the tuft of hair on his head, the little thing sleeping soundly.

_This must be the first sign of insanity. _Alice thought.

"Ah! There you are. Still singing that silly rhyme?" Hatter exclaimed happily, taking it off Marchy.

"_A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song_." The little thing mumbled again making Hatter laugh.

"Ah, still as cryptic as ever." He turned to Alice who looked a bit calmer yet was still panicking. "He's been a friend since I was a tiny tot and yet I still can't understand a word he says. Must be a dormouse thing." He chuckled, taking him and putting him in a tea pot where he curled up happily.

_Next stop. Mental hospital._

"Remember that he's in there this time." Marchy chimed in making Hatter chuckle in embarrassment.

"Yeah, that **may** be a good idea."

_For Pete's sake Alice!_ Alice shouted angrily. _Grow a back bone. If this is really happening then deal with it. Don't wimp out now!_

Even though she hated to admit it – and she truly did hate admitting it – inner her was right. If she was going to get out of here, or at least wake up, she needed to **grow** up, and stop hyperventilating before she keeled over.

"Poor little thing almost had a heart attack last time."

Alice let out an un-amused chuckle, moving forward so she was in between March and Hatter.

"Look, not that I'm not loving this beautiful conversation, but I am stuck in...'Wonderland' as you call it, a place that only exists in a **book** and I would very much like to go home. So if one of you could please tell me how I can do that with as little trouble as possible that would be great." Her voice was as polite as possible, the one she put on when she incredibly pissed off with someone yet covered it up with fake niceties. Marchy, having forgotten Alice was there and that she wasn't supposed to be there, turned to her in shock.

"The Looking Glass to get you home is on the other side of Wonderland my dear." Marchy stated.

"Getting there without any knowledge of Wonderland is suicide." He shook his head from side to side, as if that one move summed up the true 'terror' of Wonderland.

"Exactly," Hatter replied loudly as he walked over to a glass wardrobe, Alice and Marchy staring at him in worry. Reaching in he took out a pale moss green coat and slipped it on. "That's why I'm taking her."

"What?!" Alice and Marchy said simultaneously, causing Hatter to flinch.

"Hey!" he shouted back, covering his ears with his hands. "What's with the shouting in synch! You only met five seconds ago."

"Are you mad?!" Marchy exclaimed. Hatter shrugged.

"I am the **Mad** Hatter Marchy, being mad kind of comes with the name." That logic must have hit a note with March as he paused. Alice however, had wasn't so impressed.

"I can look after myself!" she exclaimed, offended by his assumption.

"But it's a suicide mission!" Marchy shouted at Hatter, ignoring her. Alice rolled her eyes and turned away, realising that she wasn't being listened to. Even if she **was** the one stuck.

Hatter shrugged again, eyes wide and looking like a child who was being scolded.

"Well I can't exactly let this defenceless lady travel through Wonderland alone now can I?" he asked.

"I am **not** defenceless!" Alice denied again, this time being listened to.

"Fine." He said to Alice before going back to Marchy. "I can't let this **lady** travel through Wonderland alone. As you said it's a suicide mission and she wouldn't last, not with the Queen of Hearts running a mock."

"_Off with your head."_ Dormouse muttered making both March and Hatter flinch.

"Yes Dormy," Hatter said in a strained voice, rubbing his neck. "Thank you."

"Look!" Alice said, storming over to Hatter. "I don't need help. What I need is directions."

"What you need!" he shouted back, taking Alice off guard. "Is a guide." His voice was softer now, knowing that she was listening. Marchy watched in both shock and wonder as they both stared at each other, neither blinking.

"I can look after myself." She repeated, turning away. Hatter rolled his eyes, he too getting irritated.

"Well obviously you **can't**, seeing as you got yourself **stuck** here!" he replied. Alice turned on her heels and held her hands out.

"I didn't **do** anything! All I did was lean against a mirror after chasing a cat that had run off with my tea towels." She yelled back. Hatter laughed.

"That's my point! There's so many false turns and distractions in Wonderland. Seeing as you where curious enough to chase something into a mirror shows you wouldn't last two **seconds** here!"

"I didn't **chase** it into the mirror. I told you I **fell** in!" Marchy watch them both, staring from them to the tea pot Dormouse slept in.

"Guys, you're going to wake up-"

"Quiet!" both shouted, not turning away from each other.

"Why do you want to help me anyway! I'm just an...Oyster as you put it!" she asked.

"**Air**-breather. Marchy said Oyster."

"I don't care!"

"I want to help you 'cause if I **don't**, the Queen of Hearts will kill you, and you Oysters are the only thing keeping Wonderland alive!"

Everything was quiet.

"_Without trust, words become the hollow sound of a wooden gong. With trust, words become life itself."_ Dormouse muttered softly, his voice seeming normal volume in the silence.

"Fine." Alice said, breaking the silence. "I guess I do need a guide." She stated. "But if you two," she pointed at Marchy and Hatter. "Keep saying I'm in Wonderland then I'm leaving." Hatter chuckled, a grin that screamed 'I know better' on his face.

"Fine," he walked passed her and picked up the coral jacket, throwing it to her. She caught it with ease, staring at it as if it was an alien object. "I'll just have to show you."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x


	3. Enter the Queen of Hearts

x-x-x-x-x-x

_One. The one you took_

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

_There was a plane crash every single person died, two people survived. How?_

The Looking Glass was beautiful, it should be after all the time the Queen spent cleaning it. It was the only cleaning she did and the glass was the only thing the card servant's weren't allowed to touch. As it was only part of the Looking Glass it didn't allow Wonderlanders travel to the human world, it acted more as a crystal ball, giving the Queen of Hearts a greater advantage over her White and Red Queen counter parts. The glass swirled with different colours, pale blues, pinks, yellows all swirled as one in the white background, only a vague reflection of the vain queen in its mists.

The Queen of Hearts was a pretty woman, any creature in Wonderland could see that, even the blind ones, and none knew it better than the Queen of Hearts herself. Long red hair cascaded down her back, shining brightly against her pale shoulders. An extravagant crown set with rubies and diamonds and the rare jewels native to Wonderland sat upon her head, and a bejewelled red gown adorned her body, a gift from her King, after all nothing was too good for his Queen.

She didn't always look like this. Before she was a wrinkled old lady with hair greying and muddy brown eyes. Her teeth were rotted due to too many gorges on sweets and she couldn't fit into any of her royal dress. That no longer applied now though. Thanks to the magic she drained from the puny Oysters her eyes where a bright topaz, her skin a creamy white, teeth bright and hair shiny, and all of Wonderland lived in fear of her.

All of it.

"Show me the Oyster." She commanded, holding the swirling mirror at arm's length. A red haired girl came into view, nothing like that of the blonde haired creature that existed in the book. She was pale and freckled slightly – almost unnoticeably, yet even 'imperfections' like that caught the Queen's eye. She was dressed like peasant, jeans, black turtleneck jumper and coral coloured knitted poncho. There was no way this girl could be the one of legend, but the Queen was not one to take chances. The Queen grinned slyly before turning to her Diamond guard.

"Bring her to me."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

**A/N: I know I said I wouldn't make any of these, but I got a review saying that this should be in the "Alice, 2009" section, believing that it was based on Syfy's Alice. Please note now that it isn't. This is just a collaboration of all the amazing Alice In Wonderland based things I've seen and other examples that I believe could work. Seeing as I will be taking mainly from the books, it will stay in this section. For a list of the inspirations for the story go to my profile.**

**I did try and make it clear in my first A/N but it seems not everyone got the message. Sorry if I seem rude, but I did mention before, this is just an extra measure for those who didn't get the message. Anyway, for those who are reading and did get the message,**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying the story.**

_**i-am-walrus**_


	4. Tea Comes From Trees?

_They were a couple_

_x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x_

_What do poor people have. Rich people need. Something a man fears more than the devil. And what a person takes to their grave._

_x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x_

"Is there any particular reason you're taking Dormy?" March asked warily as his hatted friend happily placed Dormouse under his hat, knowing that his friend didn't like the sunlight.

"Dormy always said he wanted to see the Looking Glass after Bill Lizard's stories about it," Marchy nodded in agreement.

"Yes, he **was** a good story teller." Marchy said, Hatter interrupted before he could rant about it.

"Anywho, the second reason is that I don't trust **both** of you alone in the shop." He stated. Marchy looked to his friend, offended.

"We won't be alone. I'll look after Dormouse and Dormouse after me, how are we alone? Wait! Hatter!" Marchy shouted after him as he went to walk out the door to Alice. Hatter rolled his head as if fed up, although March knew that it was just Hatter being impatient - and turned to him.

"What now Marchy! If we don't leave now we won't make it to Cheshire Cat Territory by sundown. And you know Wonderland gets dangerous at nightfall." Marchy sighed, his ears flopping down.

"Be careful. You know the Queen of Hearts will be after you when she finds out about Alice, if she hasn't all ready that is." This is what Hatter meant, Marchy was a stupid genius. Unlike Hatter, Marchy would think this through, most likely **not** take an Oyster back to the Looking Glass. He wouldn't turn her in either, he just wouldn't help. Hatter smiled as rubbed his hands together.

"All the more reason to get cracking then." He cackled, marching out his office to find Alice.

Alice had left the office as Hatter got ready to leave, now sitting at one of the white tables in the main shop, needing to be away from both of them. She couldn't be in Wonderland, she knew that, -or at least believe that – yet she couldn't look out the windows, they just had "Out of order" flickering over them as if they were TV screens. Heck, it would be a clever way to trick your captive, show them pictures of some far off city to freak them out. Turned out he really did own a tea shop, she saw that much when she left his office. It looked like a simple cottage cafe, yet tables and chairs were also stuck to the ceiling, hanging over Alice's head. The walls were a bright sunshine yellow-suited his disposition perfectly – and more posters hung on the wall. Leaning her elbows on the white wooden table she sat at, Alice let out a sigh before running both hands through her hair. She needed to be calm; she needed to be focused.

"Alice!" Hatter shouted as he marched out his office.

There went her calm.

"How are you holding up?" he asked in seemingly genuine honesty. Alice smiled back falsely.

"I'll feel better when I get home." Hatter nodded as if he understood and took her hand, pulling her out of her seat.

"We better get going." He explained letting her go as they reached the door and pulling out a handkerchief from his coat pocket. Noticing her confused look he smiled.

"Handle gets hot after making tea." He stated, not answering her at all. The door opened, and the breath of fresh air was magical after the stuffy tea shop. In fact, it didn't smell like air at all, it was crisper, sweeter, like the spiced apple candles her mum used to light around the house.

"It's magic." He answered her unasked question, causing her to turn to him in confusion.

"The air," he motioned upwards, waving his hands around. "it's magic." Noticing that the confusion didn't leave her face he rolled his eyes, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Come on." He said, taking her hand. "We better get going. Night will fall in a couple of hours and we need to get to Cheshire Cat Territory as soon as possible." He said happily, dragging her along.

Now that she was outside she could see that she definitely wasn't in the city anymore, more like in the countryside only there were no cows or sheep, only trees and grass. The tea shop seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a thick covering of trees, although the trees didn't look exactly normal.

"Mr Hatter!" a shrill voice called from behind them, causing both of them to turn. Alice didn't see what harm the old lady walking towards them would be but Hatter seemed to think differently, groaning in annoyance. Quickly he reached under his hat and placed Dormouse in Alice's hand.

"Don't lose him and don't breathe." He whispered to Alice, swiftly turning the face the woman with a fake smile and polite tone as Alice held her breath. "Ah Mrs Habberdasher! What a pleasant surprise!" he exclaimed politely, hands behind back as he bowed lightly to the lady.

"Mr Hatter!" she breathed out as if she'd just ran a marathon. "What is the meaning of this! I come for tea here **every**- "

"Unbirthday I know." Hatter interrupted. "But unfortunately I have some personal business to attend to this week so the shop will be closed, but!" he started quickly, stopping the woman before she spoke again. "We will be back open next week and you tea shall be on the house. How does that sound?" he questioned, not truly wanting an answer. Mrs Habberdasher went to nod slowly having not kept track of Hatter's fast speech. "Very well." He smiled, turning back to Alice and lacing her elbow through hers.

"Its okay." He muttered, leaning in close and not looking back. "Only a few more seconds."

Four.

Three.

Alice clasped her eyes shut as she began petting Dormouse automatically, relying on Hatter to guide her.

Two.

One.

Alice let in deep breath, Hatter smiling softly.

"Well done. You can hold your breath for a while." He stated. Alice shrugged.

"Don't make me do that again." She breathed, chuckling slightly, her eyes still closed.

"I won't." He promised. Hatter was silent after that, the most silence she'd experienced since she arrived in Wonderland.

"Alice, you can open your eyes." Hatter said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Slowly Alice opened her eyes, blurry from the change in light.

"Oh my..." she trailed off, staring in awe at the view around her. They were in a forest now, trees and more trees surrounding them. Not that they were ordinary trees. They glowed with different colours: blues, yellows, pinks, whites, flashing on and off every second.

"Is that...tea cups?" she asked, pointing to the tree closest to her. Hatter chuckled.

"This," he said, motioning around him and looking up. "Is Tea-Tree Forest. Here," Hatter picked one of the tea-cups off and handed it to Alice. "Try it. I just buried this one and I want to see what people think." Alice looked at the cup cautiously, glaring at it in worry as lines from a poem her mum read to her echoed in her head.

_We must not look at goblin men, _

_We must not buy their fruits: _

_Who knows upon what soil they fed. _

_Their hungry thirsty roots?_**{1]**

Hatter smiled softly, putting a hand on Alice's shoulder, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"It's okay Alice. It won't hurt you." He assured her, his eyes seeming to change colour with the trees flashing. Sighing at herself in both anger and embarrassment at being caught fearing him, Alice took the cup and took a sip.

"Mmm!" Alice exclaimed, rather surprised. It was a Strawberry tea, or at least tasted of Strawberry – down here she couldn't be sure what exotic fruit it truly was. But it was sweet yet fresh, almost like a fruit juice yet not as harsh. Truly she couldn't define the taste, but whatever it was, it was beautiful.

"I knew you'd like it." Hatter beamed. "You seem like a Lokerberry person. Sweet yet with a kick." Alice rolled her eyes and downed the last of the tea, noticing Hatter staring.  
"That should keep you going for a while. Lockerberry gives you energy, but it may cause you to feel at bit jumpy. It's full of sugars." Alice nodded and smiled.

"Thank you." She said. Hatter grinned back, turning swiftly and looking to the sky.

"Well, sundown will be soon. We best get going." He clasped his hands together happily, looking up at the orange sky and began walking a head, not waiting for Alice to follow but knowing she would. It was silent for a while, Alice looking around, unable to speak in both awe and fear and everything.

"I really am in Wonderland, aren't I." She asked. Hatter looked to Alice, watching her as she looked down at the ground jumping slightly as she saw that the floor lit up as she walked on it. Her face showed fear, yet he could tell she was in wonder at what she was seeing. He'd seen it in enough humans faces before, it was such a rare emotion in Wonderland that it was easy to spot. In fact, emotions in general where easy spot, and that's what caught humans out and why Alice wouldn't have lasted an hour.

"Looks like it." He said, dragging his gaze from her to the path in front of them. The trees continued to flash from colour to colour, all thanks to the small bugs that lived inside them. He turned back to her as he heard her take in a deep breath and let it out, eyes closed.

"Okay." She said, shaking her head and standing up straight, eyes focused a head. "How far away is the Looking Glass?" she asked, looking to Hatter.

"The Glass is usually kept at the North of Sprite Territory. Here's the map if you want to look." He held out a crystal in his hand, and with a click of his fingers a 3D picture of Wonderland strung from the rugged crystal, pale blue lines defining borderlines and a the name of the lands lit up in a yellow light. Alice didn't even realise that she'd reached up to touch it until the lines disintegrated, only to reappear as she pulled her hand back quickly. Hatter chuckled at her.

"We are here." He stated, a red dot appearing on the map, under the words saying 'Tea Tree Forest'.

"And we need to get here." Another red dot appeared, only it appeared on the other side of the map. Tea-Tree Forest was near the bottom left hand corner of the map, the Looking Glass happened to be past six full territories, showing up in the right hand side of the map, although not as close to the edge as the Forest.

"So," Alice said, "A month then." Hatter chuckled, shaking his head.

"A week, or less." He went back to the map. "But there's a door close to No Man's Land that will take us where we need to go." A yellow dot appeared at where Alice guess to be the door they would attempt to reach, luckily it was half way between the starting point and destination. "That should cut it down to about four days, give or take." He sighed, scratching his head under his hat.

"_Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it."_

Dormouse muttered, now sleeping on Alice's shoulder after moving when Alice wasn't breathing.

Hatter chuckled, as Alice lifted the mouse into her hands again.

"Always the optimist." Alice watched the mouse with curious eyes, the small animals eyes and nose twitching every so often, giving the illusion that the mouse was sleeping, although with every time he spoke Alice was beginning to doubt he was even asleep.

"You're a cute little guy." Alice smiled, stroking the small creatures head, causing it to move a bit yet Alice could see him smile softly.

"He'll be your friend for life now." Hatter mentioned. "He loves it when people do that. Unless it's Mrs Habberdasher, then it scares him." Alice smiled, and placed dormouse on her shoulder again, liking his silent company.

"What's wrong with her anyway?" Alice questioned. "You didn't seem very happy when she came by." Hatter chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head and looking to the ground.

"Ah, yes. Her." He sighed. "She's a regular customer, comes in every Unbirthday as you heard. It's only recently that she started being a rat. Telling the Queen of Hearts about things going on in Wonderland." Hatter turned to Alice, seeing her frown in thought. "That's why I told you to hold your breath. Only human's breathe quickly or as often. She would have caught on instantly, even though she's a bit slow." Alice nodded in understanding, fear bubbling in her stomach.

"What's so bad...about the Queen of Hearts?" Alice asked, feeling stupid as Hatter turned to her in shock. "What is it that she doing?" Hatter looked away and took off his hat, scratching his head and shaking leaves that had fallen onto his hat off.

"The Queen of Hearts...Well, where do I star-"Hatter stopped suddenly, holding out an arm to stop Alice.

"What? What's wrong?" Alice asked, looking ahead and behind.

Hatter didn't answer.

Without saying anything, Hatter ran over to a tree and sniffed it.

"Hatter, what on earth- Hatter!" Alice exclaimed as he licked the tree, tasting it. He paused for a couple of seconds, as if thinking the taste over over before shouting.

"Shit!" Faster than Alice's eyes could see, Hatter ran back over to Alice, grabbed her arm and began running like hell. As they ran, Hatter took Dormouse off her shoulder and slipped him under his hat- that magically stayed attached to his head.

"What's going on Hatter?!" Alice shouted as they ran, looking behind her for the cause of Hatter's sudden sprint. He didn't answer, but the ear shattering roar that echoed through the Forest did.

"What the hell was that!" Alice screamed, noticing the tree's behind them moving from some invisible force. Hatter didn't answer, instead running even further and harder. Alice was having hard time keeping up, she never did like sports or exercise, the only reason she bothered doing exercise at all was because of her mother's nagging. Although there was a huge difference between light jogging and a fully-fledged sprint. Suddenly Hatter stopped, causing Alice to run into him.

They were in a clearing now, the tree's no longer lighting up. The ground they stood on looked dead and the trees around them lifeless.

"Hatter!" Alice shouted, hitting him on the shoulder. "What the hell is after us!" Hatter was too breathing heavily, looking around the clearing for something that Alice couldn't see. Finally he turned to Alice, his eyes wide yet determined. He went to speak but was interrupted by the trees behind them giving way. Both turned quickly, Hatter having to hold Alice up as her legs gave way from fear.

"Don't. Move." Hatter whispered, holding Alice tightly. Alice went to stand by herself, the fear dispersing but Hatter wouldn't let go. She stared at the monster that towered over her, its tail and neck moving in a hypnotic motion like a cat's tail.

The creature's was almost cat-fish like, whiskers that looked like a moustache stuck out from the side of its face, its eyes red, droopy and tired looking. The claws were like elongated dinosaur claws. The first thing that came to mind was Hydra from the Hercules movie.

They stood there for what felt like hours, yet was actually five minutes. Slowly the creature leaned in, sniffing Hatter as he closed his eyes and tried not the move. It went to Alice next, taking longer yet Hatter clutched her hand, reminding her not to move. Not that it helped.

She didn't know what did it, yet Hatter would later claim it was because of her human scent, but whatever it was it made the creature mad. Growling deeply its roar shook Alice's entire being, only Hatter's shouting keeping her from collapsing from the strength of the roar.

"Run!"

And run they did. They took off like a bullet, the sudden movement disorientating the creature long enough to give them a head start, but not much. They were only ten feet away before the creature caught sight of their plan, rather quickly for such a slow looking creature.

"What the hell is that!" Alice screamed over the monster's roar and trees crashing to the ground.

"Jabberwock!" Hatter exclaimed, quickly he grabbed her hand and pulled her forward so she was running at the same speed as him.

"Don't look back!" he shouted over the roars, tugging at Alice's hand harder to make her move faster. Alice took his advice, taking more thought into how to move her feet than what was chasing her.

No point in denying it now. She was in Wonderland.

"Over here!" Hatter exclaimed, pulling her right quickly into a more dense part of the forest, causing them to duck and push branches out of the way. The Jabberwock paused for a minute having lost them but quickly caught their sent again and ran after them, breaking through the branches with ease.

"In here!" Hatter said, pointing over to an opening in the nearby rock face, big enough for them to get in but far too small for the Jabberwock to follow. Another earth shattering roar echoed through the forest as they entered the cave, a sudden change in temperature from the cool air of the forest to the humidity of the cave making it difficult for her to breathe, but it was better than what lay behind her. Hatter and Alice pressed themselves against the side of the cave in the pitch black, only their heavy breathing and water dripping from further in head. Both stopped breathing as the Jabberwock poked its head into the cave. Its breath heavy, covering up their own panicked breathing. Alice clasped Hatter's hand, closer her eyes as her usual mantra repeated in her head, one her mother sung to her to get her to sleep.

_I left my baby lying there_

_Lying there, lying there_

_I left my baby lying there_

_When I went to gather blaeberries_

_Ho bhan ho bhan haithri o ho ...._[2]

She never did understand why it calmed her down, with such a morbid underlay, yet it always did.

"Alice? Alice?" Hatter shook her, snapping her out of her thoughts. She turned to his voice in a daze, the music of her mum's voice still swimming through her head. "Its gone." He said, stretching his aching muscles. She could see nothing in the darkness, Hatter's voice the only thing letting her know she wasn't alone. Alice let out a tired breath and held up a hand.

"Next time a giant monster comes after us. Can you at least tell me before you go all crazy on me?" she asked. Alice heard Hatter's laugh in the darkness.

"Promise." He laughed, still breathing heavily. "Though I do have one question. Do you kiss your mum with that mouth?" his answer was a swift hit to the back of the head.

"Ow! That hurt!" he exclaimed, though Alice could hear the amusement in his voice. It was better than her previous denial and anger.

"It better." She mumbled, only to turn swiftly with Hatter as a voice called from further in the cave.

"Who goes there?!"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

[1] – Goblin Market – Christina Rossetti (link for full poem on my profile)

[2] – Fairy Lullaby – Christina Stewart (link to mp3 file and full lyrics on profile)


	5. Keep Your Feet On The Ground

_Nothing_

_x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x_

_I have two heads but only one body, the more still I stand the faster I run._

_x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x_

"Whose there!" a voice grumbled from the darkness, a faint light from a lantern breaking through the black. Hatter and Alice pressed themselves against the cave wall, the sharp rocks digging into their backs. The light was getting closer, only a faint shadow protecting them from whoever was searching. At first, Alice couldn't see anything. The light blinded her, her eyes too used to the darkness, but it soon faded and a man came into view. He was old, gangly and seemed a bit clumsy. His hair was coal black and stood on end, the first thing that came to mind was Doc from Back to the Future, he also had a Dumbledore like beard, only it was white, not black like his hair. He was wearing a dark green cloak with red trimmings, but he wasn't holding the lantern. Instead, it walked beside him, making slight squeaking sounds as it bent down on its 'knees' with every step.

"Who goes there!" he called again, pushing his rectangular glasses back up his face as they slid down. Alice, deciding for herself to come out of hiding, moved out of the shadow.

"Hello?" she called, holding her arm up over her eyes from the brightness of the light as she walked forward, out of the shadow. Hatter tried to stop her, reaching over to grab her poncho but she was already gone. The old man, leaned forward, scrunching up his eyes before taking off his glasses and cleaning them on his cloak. When he finally reapplied them, a look of recognition spread across his face.

"A human!" he exclaimed joyfully, running over and shaking her hand with both hands and a lot of force for such a frail looking man, rather quickly as well. "It is truly an honour to meet a human!" he said, still shaking her hand vigorously. Alice smiled in confusion yet was happy that the man seemed good enough; hopefully he wasn't happy for the wrong reasons. "Why I don't think we've had a human here for...over 200 years!" he chortled, still not letting go of her hand. "What's your name child?" he asked, finally letting go.

"Um, well I'm Alice" she said, turning to where Hatter still resided in shadow. "And my friend in the shadows is Hatter." The old man looked over Alice's shoulder to see Hatter appearing from the shadows.

"Ah yes," the man grinned. "Mr Hatter, I've heard about you're tea shop. I would have gone but," he motioned to the cave around him. "I'm not very fond of leaving the cave and you probably saw why on the way. Jabberwock problem?" he asked, knowingly and with a grin. Hatter scoffed.

"You don't know the half of it." Alice noted the slight glare that came from Hatter but ignored him and turned back to the man.

"Um, sorry Mr?" Alice questioned. The man looked at her for a second before he hit his forehead.

"Of course, sorry I've not yet introduced myself. I am Tobias Sect, High Wizard." He bowed low, his white beard curling up on the floor as he did. Alice smiled and nodded.

"Pleased to meet you." She said.

"Charmed." Hatter muttered as he brushed off his coat and hat. Squeaking came from beside Tobias, the lantern jumping up and down, like a puppy who wanted attention.

"A yes!" Tobias exclaimed. "This is Lux Rumblerow."

"He's a light." Hatter stated, walking forward so he stood beside Alice.

"Exactly, Lux." Tobias said, not giving any other answer apart from that.

"So!" he clasped his hands together. "Now introductions are over, can I ask why a human such as yourself is in Wonderland of all places?"

"It was an accident. I'm trying to get home, Hatter is guiding me." Alice explained. Tobias nodded. "Very good. Very good." He said, "But before you go you must be hungry and tired, that Jabberwock is still outside and probably won't move for a while. I was just about to put dinner on. You're welcome to join us." Tobias smiled, Lux jumping up and down again and, from what Alice could tell, nod repeatedly.

"We would love that. Wouldn't we Hatter?...Hatter!" Alice elbowed Hatter who was looking away, seeming bored with his surroundings.

"Yeah, sure." Hatter replied.

"Well come on then!" he shouted, turning and waving them over. "No need to dillydally." Alice chuckled, and glared at Hatter when she saw his hard look. Elbowing him again, she went to follow Tobias.

"What's with you?" she whispered angrily, leaning close to Hatter so he could hear her. "Tobias is helping us and all **you're** doing is sulking." Hatter grabbed her arm before she could get much further, dragging her closer to him so he could whisper.

"I don't trust him." He said. Alice scoffed.

"Come on. He's a batty old man. Stop being so judgemental." Alice scolded, trying to move again, but still Hatter wouldn't let go.

"The last thing I heard about the High Wizards was that they died out years ago, now one **magically** appears as you come to Wonderland and the Queen of Hearts is after you? Not a chance. I say we skedaddle out of here before we end up in the Queen of Hearts jailhouse, or worse. On her chopping block." He went to drag her out the cave but Alice hit his hand and pulled back.

"No! Look Hatter, he's an old man. And anyway, if we wanted to leave we can't because there's a giant **Jabberwock** sitting outside waiting for us." Alice reasoned. Hatter held out his hands.

"I'd rather take my chances with **it** than the Queen of Hearts." His hands falling down to his sides. It was silent for a couple of seconds, the two companions staring each other down.

"I'm staying." Alice stated finally, staring at him steadily. Hatter looked away, looking hurt as he held out his hands.

"Fine! Get yourself attacked by The Queen, see if I care!" he shouted as Alice followed Tobias.

"Fine!" she screamed back.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Both Hatter and Alice groaned in annoyance as they walked away, Hatter's stride long at first but getting slower and slower the closer he got to the exit of the cave.

"_You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you don't trust enough". _The small voice came from under Hatter's hat, soft snores following every couple of phrases. Hatter finally came to a stop, sighing deeply.

"I hate it when you're right." Hatter mumbled, Dormouse's reply only a louder snore than usual. Kicking the ground in irritation at being beaten by a girl, a human girl no less, Hatter turned and walked back towards Alice.

He shouldn't have brought Dormouse.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"There was one time." Tobias said, starting on another story as Alice smiled and listened carefully. "During my childhood when one of the more rouge wizards was one the run from our guards. Everyone was paranoid as this wizard was the known cause of many deaths in the District. Well," he began to laugh in the memory. "Well, one day, while I was practicing one of the spells my teacher had taught me, he ran past, the guards quite a bit away. I knew they weren't going to catch him so I threw the first spell I could think of at him." Alice smiled in amusement as the old wizard told his story, his face lighting up in happiness. "I tried to freeze him, but I got my spell mixed up like I had been doing all morning. Instead of a freezing's spell, I cast dissolving spell - you see there's very little difference between the two apart from two letters, but that's beside the point. Instead of dissolving the wizard himself, it dissolved his clothes. Unfortunately for him he was running towards the centre of town at the time. I don't think he realised what had happened until he saw people were laughing at him." He explained.

"What did he do?" Alice asked as she covered her mouth to try and stop the laughter enough to speak.

"In the end he handed himself in. He had been totally embarrassed in front of almost the entire wizard race. It was highly unlikely anyone would take him seriously anymore. Ended up getting my wizarding licence for that." He sighed happily. "Even if I did get the spell wrong." He chuckled. They'd been sitting listening to Tobias' stories for almost an hour now and Alice's perception had been proven right. He was a batty old man. But full of humorous and amazing stories that Alice drank in. It was better than reading a book, seeing the emotions that appeared on his face at the memory and how Wonderland truly was. It was like every book she'd ever read put into one world. Wizards, Monsters, Kings, Queens, animated lanterns, talking hares, a crazy shop owner... she'd only been there for a day and seen and heard so much. Sighing in content Tobias slapped his knees and looked to Alice.

"Did you enjoy your food?" Tobias asked Alice. After attempting and failing to make conversation with Hatter at least seven times Tobias had given up trying to speak to him, instead relying on Alice to speak for him. Alice nodded, and smiled.

"It was lovely, thank you." And it had been, the wizard wasn't as incompetent as he first seemed and made out to be. The second he asked if Alice was hungry he'd already conjured up some sort of vegetables and fruits, cooked and ready to be eaten. She didn't even have to tell him about her diet. He even had fresh pineapple, her favourite fruit. She felt guilty - like she always did in the company of others- when she ate almost half of what was there but Tobias seemed pleased and urged her to eat as much as she liked. For a batty old man from another dimension, he was friendlier than most people she'd met.

"Very good, very good. Now," he started, clasping his hands together and smiling at the two. "How about you tell me what you're looking for, it's not every day two travellers past my cave." He said, Lux squeaking in the background having fallen asleep half an hour ago, having heard Tobias' stories before.

"We're going to the Looking Glass." Alice said, ignoring Hatter's glaring. "Do you know how we could get past the Jabberwock?" Tobias sat in thought for a couple of moments, staring into the fire they sat around as if it held his answers.

"Hmm, well I've never tried so I wouldn't know exactly. But hopefully the wretched beast will be gone by tomorrow so you should be able to leave then." Tobias looked up to Alice. "And I would recommend getting to the Glass as fast as possible; humans don't tend to live long in Wonderland." Alice nodded, pictures of the screaming Queen of Hearts she saw in storybooks her mum bought her flashing through her head.

"If it's so easy to get passed the Jabberwock then why haven't you left this cave?" Hatter asked, looking at the caves ceiling with false interest. Tobias chuckled, rubbing his hands together beside the flames to warm them.

"The Queen of Hearts is after my kind. For reasons I cannot say, she is after us. I also happen to know that if the Queen of Hearts got her hands on me, well...let's just say that I don't think you would have even made it this far." he smiled softly, yet sadness clouded his eyes.

"Can't say or won't?" Hatter asked, finally looking to the wizard. Tobias smiled softly at Hatter, like a caring granddad.

"Can't. A spell was put on me long ago. I cannot utter the reason for the Queen's interest to anyone until necessary." The cave was silent, the sparking of wood and Lux squeaking all that was heard, creating a silence that Alice felt was awkward. Finally, Tobias sighed and slapped his hands down on his knees, looking around.

"Well, that's enough chatter for now. If you don't mind I think I'll hit the hay. There are mattresses laid out beside the left wall for the two of you when you want to sleep. Goodnight Alice, Hatter." He nodded to Hatter, who again was refusing to give eye contact. Tobias whistled a random tune as he moved further into the cave, the whistling stopping for about five minutes before turning into snores, signalling he was asleep.

"Look," Alice said, turning to Hatter angrily. "I **know** that you're character in the book was rude but I didn't think you'd be this rude in real life." She shook her head in disbelief. "I mean, he's part of your world and you trust me more than him?" she asked. "Yeah, great judgement." Hatter clenched his fists, trying to control his anger.

_Think happy thoughts Hatter. Think happy thoughts._

"You're a human." He explained as he calmed down. "You have no way to defend yourself here, unlike him, if he really is a wizard. He could kill you if he wanted and no one would be the wiser." Hatter's tone worried Alice; it was too calm and soft for the way his fist was clenched and jaw tight.

"Well he **hasn't** has he?" she asked sharply, fed up with his accusations. "In fact he's been nothing but courteous while you've been the biggest ass in history. " Alice was huffing now, her words getting faster, more strung together and harder to understand. "What do you have against Wizards anyway?" she asked.

It was silent for quite a while; only the crackling of the fire and Tobias' soft snoring heard echoing in the cave.

"It's said," Hatter started. "That meeting a High Wizard, a lone High Wizard and sharing his home brings bad luck on travellers." He turned to her, his hair a mess from running his hand through it in an attempt to calm down. "As in, 'you're not going to survive' bad luck." Alice turned to Hatter with a faint smile on her face.

"I didn't take you as superstitious type." She said. Hatter shrugged.

"Yeah, well usually I'm not. But I didn't believe humans could appear my shop either and look where that landed me." He chuckled, taking off his hat and running a hand through his hair. "What about you?" he asked, looking down on his hat. "You superstitious?" Alice shook her head.

"Not really. I enjoy reading books and things but I never really believed in superstitions or fairy-tales." She shrugged her shoulders, focusing on the fire. Hatter chuckled.

"Lucky you." He muttered. Alice looked around, watching the fire, something so mundane that it made her think she wasn't in Wonderland again. But when she thought to the creature that just chased them into the cave and Lux, everything she'd seen so far... she had to be.

"But "Alice In Wonderland" is just a children's book." She said, looking down with a look of confusion and fear. Hatter looked to her, instantly feeling guilty for shouting at her earlier. She was in a strange world and so far, much to Hatter's dismay as he wanted to be a hero, she was coping rather well. Minus the total denial earlier. Sighing he scooted closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Just because it's a story doesn't mean it can't happen." Hatter said, trying to comfort her. Although, seeing as he spent most of his time drinking tea and hanging around with March and Dormouse his ability to comfort human women was slightly lacking, meaning it was more an awkward hug more than anything else. Alice chuckled, and scratched her head.

"So, "Alice In Wonderland" actually happened then?" she asked in disbelief.

"Pfft," Hatter scoffed. "Of **course** not. Nothing in that book has ever happened." He looked over to her slowly, grinning widely. "Yet." Alice looked up in thought.

"So Lewis Carroll just **happened** to write about something that actually existed?" Alice asked. Hatter let out a thoughtful sigh and pursed his lips as he twirled his hat, trying to think of the best way to explain it.

"What if," he started thoughtfully, "I told you... that it was that **book** that made Wonderland?" He questioned turning to Alice. Alice frowned and shook her head.

"That makes no sense. A book can't create a world." She started.

"But Wonderland doesn't make sense Alice." Hatter explained, talking quickly as his knowledge of Wonderland shone through. "Wonderland runs of the human's belief that we exist, without that Wonderland withers. Human imagination is a powerful thing Alice." He stated, staring at her steadily as Alice watched him thoughtfully.

"Then," she started slowly, "why don't you just tell human's you exist." Alice asked. Hatter chuckled under his breath as he shook his head.

"If we did that then there wouldn't be belief just knowledge. Ever heard the saying 'knowledge is power'?" he asked raising his eyebrows. Alice nodded.

"Same concept." He said. "Every time a Human finds something that it doesn't understand it kills it. Just take a look at the baby Jabberwock that was found in Panama.[1] A couple of human children beat it to death because they thought it was an alien. How lovely you human's are." His voice dripped sarcasm as he put his hat back on his head and looked away, leaning his elbows on his knees.

"If we told human's we existed," he began again, turning his head slightly so he could see her, but not face her. "Wonderland would totally dissolve. Magic works through the **idea** of magic, the **idea** of magical creatures running around under human noses. Not knowledge, knowledge destroys magic." Alice watched Hatter with a soft gaze, frowning as she thought. Something was going on in Wonderland, or at least had been for a while. An entire race of Wizards dying out, Hatter worrying over her safety, the March Hare going crazy when he saw her. Not to mention the fact that the Queen of Hearts may or may not be coming after her.

She felt nerves creeping up her spine and her stomach, making her feel sick and causing her to wrap her arms around her. _What are you thinking Alice_, her inner voice said. _You can barely walk down the street at home without panicking, what do you thinks going to happen here?_

Alice took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself down and stop herself hyperventilating. Panic attack. She'd had plenty of them before, but they usually only happened in crowded areas like shopping centres and cities. Never for no reason. She continued taking in deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down, as she always did when one surfaced. _Just look at yourself_, he said to herself. _Already having a panic attack over the thought of Wonderland's inhabitants. Grow up!_

A hand touching her shoulder snapped her out of the sudden attack, causing her to snap her head to the direction of the culprit.

"Uh?" she said, looking up in a daze. Hatter loomed above her, with a concerned look.

"You okay Alice? You look a little sick." He said, feeling her head for fever.

"I'm fine." She replied, smiling softly. "Just tired." Hatter nodded slowly, not believing her for a second.

"Well, we better get some sleep. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow, that Jabberwock put us behind schedule." Nodding her head and yawning Alice agreed, standing to go over to her 'bed'.

She lay on the surprisingly soft mattress under the blue blanket, staring at the rugged stonewalls she faced with tired eyes, her arms wrapped around herself as if it would prevent another attack or save her from whatever would come after her in the night. Tobias' words from earlier echoed in her head as she thought back on her sudden attack.

_I would recommend getting to the Glass as fast as possible; humans don't tend to live long in Wonderland._ The thought of death passed fleetingly across Alice's mind but she quickly dismissed it.

_No, the only death threat issued is from the Queen of Hearts,_ Alice thought, _Wonderland itself can't be trying as well._

_Can it?_

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Alice and Hatter woke up to the sounds of Tobias wandering around, dropping several pots and pans on his way to the fire that had continued to burn brightly through the night. Alice sat up suddenly, expecting an attack of some sort, either from the Jabberwock or Queen of Hearts that had continued to chase her as she slept, leaving her just as exhausted as when she went to bed.

"Oh," Tobias said as he saw she was awake. "I'm sorry if I woke you." He apologized, picking up the pans with the help of Lux. Alice didn't answer for a while, trying to get rid of the fuzz from sleep that hovered over her head. Shaking her head a final time, finally releasing the fog, she smiled at Tobias.

"No, I was already awake." She lied easily, unable to be mad at the old man. Hatter, however, didn't take as kindly as Alice did to the early wake up. He moaned, irritated, before hiding under the blanket, only his hand sneaking out to grab his hat that had rolled away in the night. Alice glared at the unmoving form that was Hatter before getting up, stretching her tired muscles and watching as Tobias started making breakfast.

"I hope you like eggs." He said, conjuring several and breaking them into the pan that Lux held over the open fire. The eggshells were given to Lux, who gobbled them down happily.

"Couldn't you use magic to do that?" she asked after watching him for a while. Tobias nodded.

"Of course, but a little manual labour now and then does this old wizard some good." He smiled. Alice nodded softly, looking around the cave. She could tell it was day light now, a little light from the opening of the cave was visible, shining onto Hatter, irritating him even more. Finally he gave up on more sleep and, like an angry child, huffed and puffed himself awake, scratching his head, sending his already messed up hair into an even bigger mess.

"What time is it?" he yawned, stretching. Tobias shrugged.

"Around eight in the morning." He replied. "Give or take a few hours." Hatter let out a scoff.

"Give or take a few hours indeed." He muttered, brushing off his hat before sticking it on his head.

"Is the Jabberwock gone?" he asked, looking around, yawning again. Tobias nodded, looking over to the caves entrance as Lux added seasoning to the eggs.

"Looks and sounds like it. Jabberwocky's are dim creature, they won't stalk their food." Tobias said, going back to making the eggs. Hatter nodded and stood stretching once more as he did so.

"How about you?" he asked Alice, walking over to her. "You okay? You kept tossing and turning in your sleep." Hatter said, sitting beside her on the make shift driftwood bench. Alice shrugged, not wanting to talk about the nightmares; she continued to have that night.

"Fine, still a bit tired but fine. You?" Hatter went to answer but Tobias butted in.

"Breakfast is served!" he exclaimed, handing Alice a plate first then Hatter, Lux already eating away happily at his eggs.

They ate in silence, Hatter still in a mood about being woken up so early. Hatter finished before either of them, taking off to the entrance of the cave mumbling what Alice believed was.

"Going to see if the Jabberwocky's gone." Gone before Alice could say anything. He _still_ didn't trust him?

Letting out an angry sigh, Alice shook her head and went back to eating, thinking over the question she'd been thinking about since last night.

"Tobias," Alice started, finally getting up the courage to say something.

"Hm?" Tobias looked up through his rectangular glasses, smiling lightly.

_Just leave it._ She said to herself. _You'll sound stupid of you're wrong._

"When you said," Alice said, ignoring herself. "That human's don't survive long here. You were talking about the Queen of Hearts coming after me, weren't you?" she asked, hoping that it was a yes. Tobias stopped eating all together, looking down at his food thoughtfully then sighed.

"Is there something wrong Alice?" he questioned, frowning ever so slightly. His words took Alice a back. How could he tell? Smiling softly he began eating again.

"No need to say anything. I was hop-"he stopped before he said anything else. His head snapped up, facing the entrance to the cave with blank eyes. Alice watched with a strange mixture of horror and fascination as she watched his dark brown eyes fog over, now turning a swirling milky grey.

"Hatter!" she exclaimed, the pitch of her voice getting higher towards the end of the word. Hatter was quickly by her side, skidding to a stop and toppling over backwards as he saw Tobias' eyes.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed, skidding to the ground. "What's wrong with him!" he asked Alice. She turned to him incredulously.

"How the hell should I know? He's a Wonderlander should you know!" she shouted back pushing his shoulder. Hatter held out his hands, one pointing to Tobias who had began muttering incoherent words.

"Well, **s-o-o-rry **your highness, but High Wizards have been **extinct **for the past 150 years! I haven't exactly had the chance to talk to one and ask it what to do when they go crazy!" he exclaimed. Alice let out an irritated groan and knelt down beside Tobias, trying to snap him back to them.

"Tobias?" Alice asked, patting his bearded face. Lux had begun to panic and was bouncing up and down as he looked over his master. Alice strained to listen to what he was muttering but it seemed to be in a different language, a spell maybe?

"What's he saying Hatter?" Alice asked, looking up to a worried looking Hatter. He shook his head and opened and closed his mouth several times, unable to verbalise anything.

"I-"his voice was weak, confused. "I don't know." He said finally, shaking his head. Alice let out a shaking breath, trying to calm herself down.

_Not now Alice. Not now!_

"Ah!" Tobias gasped, lunging forward and holding his stomach. Alice turned to him quickly, supporting his weight. He continued breathing erratically, his eyes still glazed over.

"Hatter, this doesn't-"

"She's coming." Tobias gasped out, cutting Alice off. Alice frowned in confusion. She was coming?

"Shit!" Hatter exclaimed, grabbing Alice's arm.

"Wha...what?" Alice stuttered out, Tobias collapsing onto his knees as her support was taken away. "Hatter!" Alice shouted. "What are you doing! What's going on?"Hatter was muttering to himself, his grip on her wrist getting harder.

"We have to leave now." He said, not looking back.

"What's going on Hatter!" she shouted, yanking her hand out of his iron grip, stumbling back. Hatter stopped and glared darkly at her, trying to control his fear and anger.

"It's the Queen of Hearts." He said breathlessly. "She knows your here now and she's after you. We have to leave, now. Before the card guards get here." Hatter's words had faded out after he said the Queen knew she was there, Alice's thoughts going a hundred miles per hour.

"Tobias." She breathed.

"What?" Hatter asked, but it was too late, as she'd already sprinted back down the cave Tobias. "A- Alice!" he called after her. Jumping from foot to foot, he wavered for a bit. _Leave her and run Hatter!_ His cowardly side screamed. _Go get her!_ He moaned in annoyance as his conscious screamed back. He waited like that for a couple more seconds before running down the cave to Alice.

"Alice!"

He found her with Tobias, trying to lift him from his spot on the driftwood.

"Alice! What are yo-"she cut him off.

"Help me lift him." She said, her arm under his as she tried to lift him. Hatter did so without question, not wanting to spend any longer arguing. Tobias didn't budge.

"He isn't moving Alice." Hatter sang as he tried to lift him off the seat. Realising that it was fruitless Alice let go and stood back.

"It's like he's stuck there." She panted, scratching her head. "What are we going to do?" she asked softly. Hatter looked behind him, still bouncing from foot to foot.

"I would personally say run, but that's just me." He chuckled nervously.

"We can't just leave him Hatter!" she shouted. "You heard what he said. The Queen of Hearts can't get her hands on him." Alice exclaimed, Hatter flapping his hands as if she was being ridiculous.

"Well we can't bring him if he doesn't want to move!" he shouted back, fidgeting and nervous. When Alice didn't move, Hatter ran over to her and dragged her along.

"They won't hurt him Alice." He stated as she began to shout. "They're after us, not him." Alice was silent.

"I don't like leaving him." She mumbled as he pulled her along, looking back to Lux who sat down beside his master. Hatter chuckled nervously, clasping her hand in an attempt to comfort her.

"Yeah, well I don't like the Queen of Hearts, jail and dying. So I think my worries are a bit greater than a nutty Wizard."

"What if the Queen gets him Hatter?" she asked, her pace getting slower. As she began to drag her feet, Hatter let out what seemed to be an angry growl and turned to Alice, grabbing her by the shoulders.

"**Look** at me Alice." He demanded angrily, grabbing her attention instantly. His tone scared her, she wasn't sure she liked this side of Hatter. "The Queen is after **you**¸" he stated. "Not Tobias. She can't seem to find him at the moment so the only reason she's sent her guards here is because **you** are here. We move and the guards will follow. If we bring him and he'll most likely me in **more **danger because he's with you. "Even as Hatter spoke, Alice knew it was the truth. _So this is competent Hatter._ She thought. _I don't like it._

He looked at her steadily with dark brown eyes, watching for a reaction to his words that he could work with. "Now come on." He tugged at her shoulders and she followed him without question this time.

"I don't like leaving him." She murmured again, no longer looking back but forward. Hatter let out a sad sigh, refusing to look at Alice, knowing that he'd just see sadness.

"I know." He said, nodding. "I know."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

[1] – Go to my profile for a link to the story. I would out it here but links never seem to work here.


	6. I Can't Breathe, and I Can't Smile

_An Hourglass_

_x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x_

_A man was to be sentenced, and the judge told him, "You may make a statement. If it is true, I'll sentence you to four years in prison. If it is false, I'll sentence you to six years in prison." After the man made his statement, the judge decided to let him go free. What did the man say?_

_x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Alice and Hatter hadn't spoke much since leaving Tobias and Lux. Hatter had attempted to start a conversation several times but his speech always failed him before words left his lips, leaving him opening and closing is mouth repeatedly every couple of minutes.

Dormouse was back on Alice's shoulder, Hatter knowing that she would enjoy the tiny mouse's company, though she only gave him a weak smile when he placed dormouse there. Unlike the other creatures of Wonderland Dormouse was the least intimidating with his tiny size and with the fact he slept constantly. Though, Dormouse on a treacle rush and smashing every good teapot was not a pretty sight, as Hatter had found out.

The forest had gotten denser the deeper they went in, the true terror Wonderland was experiencing due to the Queen of Hearts obvious to Alice as she looked all around her. The trees were a dull brown, the leaves falling to the ground in a dead green, there were no lighting bugs in the trees or in the ground to light their path, everything a dull, murky green instead of the neon purples, greens and blues she had seen in Tea Tree Forest. The birds were no longer singing and there seemed to be no breeze at all.

_It seems to be the closer we get to the Looking Glass the worse Wonderland gets. _Alice thought, pushed a branch away from her path. _Hopefully this isn't a bad omen. _

The sky was getting brighter, now turning a yellow colour as the sun got higher in the sky, giving off a comfortable heat, but the ominous grey clouds in the horizon weren't as welcoming. Alice was scared to ask how far they'd gone in case it wasn't very far at all. They'd been walking for hours, stopping every so often to take a piece of fruit of the trees to eat and drink from but from what she'd seen so far, not everything was what it seemed here. That and she had no idea if they had the same concept of time as she did.

"Where are we now?" Alice asked, her voice slightly horse from not speaking for a while. Hatter stopped and couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. He'd thought he'd broken her when she'd stopped talking. Shaking his head to snap himself out of a daze he reached into his inner jacket pocket and took out the rough crystal map, holding it in the palm of his hand as it lit up.

"According to the map," he said, studying it carefully. "We're just about to come up to-"he cut off when he realised where they were, looking up quickly to find Alice who had continued walking a head, not realising Hatter had stopped.

"**No**, no, no, no, no!" Hatter called from behind her, running over to her in a panic causing him to trip over one of the many tree roots that stuck out from the ground. Alice turned, stopping and frowning at him with her hands on her hips.

"What's wrong?" she asked, looking back to the path in front of her.

"Not **that** way!" Hatter picked himself up off the ground awkwardly in an attempt to crack his muscles at the same time. "**Never** that way! **This** way." He stated, going behind her and pushing her shoulders so she was walking to the left.

"But this way is faster isn't it?" Alice asked, confused and looking into the dark forest a head as they walked passed it.

"Of course." He stated, looking into the forest with wary eyes. "But **that's** Vampire territory." Usually vampire's wouldn't have worried Alice – having seen so many shows were the Vampire's acted like a depressed emotional teenagers - but they way he said it...it was almost as if he was saying it was Jabberwock mating grounds

"What's so bad about Vampires?" Alice asked innocently, turning to him.

"What's so bad about _Vampires_?" he asked incredulously, letting Alice go so he could walk beside her. "Have you not heard of them in your world?" Alice nodded, frowning in confusion.

"Of course! But, from all that I've seen of them they're a bunch depresses teenagers that desperately need Prozac and run around chasing underage girls while sparkling in the process. " Alice said, shrugging. Hatter watched her with confused eyes, as if worried about her mental health. Slowly he put the back of his hand to her head, feeling for a temperature.

"You feel fine. Maybe Wonderland's getting to you more than I thought." He said more to himself than Alice. Alice smiled at him, shaking her head and his limited knowledge of the human world.

"I'm being serious." She laughed, walking beside him. "There is a book about Vampire that sparkles and fall in love with a young girl." Hatter, looked a head, the lines on his forehead showing that he was thinking hard.

"And you like it I presume?" Alice shrugged.

"It was okay. Maybe not classic English literature but few popular books are." She replied. Hatter gave her a worrying look, scoffing.

"And you call me mad? Sparkling Vampire's indeed!" he scoffed, shaking his head. "I doubt you've even **met** a real vampire!" he continued, walking ahead.

"No. Vampires don't exist, at least where I come from." She added quickly, knowing that those weren't the best words to use there.

"Exactly!" he exclaimed, now ranting. "Now a _real_ Vampire! Pfft! They wouldn't look twice at a young girl and usually spell **serious** trouble. Well..." he paused, looking to the side as if weighing the options, his nose crunching up in disgust. "They probably couldn't **spell** trouble, but you get my meaning." Alice chuckled, enjoying the Hatter's ranting.

"So..." Alice smiled, scuffing her feet across the ground as she walked, hands behind her back. "What are vampires really like then?" Hatter rolled his eyes, hands moving as he illustrated his answers.

"Blood thirsty **monsters**, that's what they are. Yeah, they **may** be good-looking but it's sorta difficult to see through the blood they've got drippin' from their faces. They're like a pack of **bloody** hyena's the lot of them." He looked to Alice that who was watching him with a smile. "That's why we **aren't** going that way." He pointed to the forest they were walking passed, giving her knowing look. "You take one step in there and you're **Vampire** food, and no Queen will even batter an eyelid." Hatter shook his head in disgust, looking to Alice in confusion as he heard her laughter.

"What's so funny?" he asked, the accent still there. Alice chuckled again.

"When you're angry," she started. "You get an Irish accent. I never noticed it until now." She replied, still laughing. Hatter frowned.  
"What's an Irish and an accent?" he asked, confused. Alice shook her head and rolled his eyes as she chuckled, her laughter dying down.

"It'll take too long to explain." she replied, shaking her head. "So their allowed to kill people?" she asked in an attempt to change the subject. She didn't really want to discuss the history of Ireland to Hatter. It being him, she'd most likely be explaining it for years to come.

"Pretty much. Vampires are the hardest race to control, after a couple hundred of years the Queens just gave up. Even the Queen of Hearts herself gets the willies when Vampire's are mentioned." Alice nodded, looking to Hatter again. He'd calmed down now, his usual accent free voice back. She couldn't place it, almost as if it was a mixture of English and American. "They're the only creatures in Wonderland that can kill a Jabberwock with their bare hands." He shrugged sadly, before looking to Alice and grinning. "Which is why we aren't going that way." He pointed to Alice's right. "We're going to have to go around. Unless you want to take part in a death match with a Vampire?" he asked with a teasing grin. Alice glared at him as she smiled, elbowing him in the shoulder.

"Ha, ha. Hilarious." She said, chuckling slightly. She looked down, rubbing her left arm as she tried to hold back her question. Not that it seemed to be helping.

"Hatter," she started, not looking up. "Why did you help me?" Hatter looking to her in shock, as if the question insulted him. "I remember you said it was because the Queen of Hearts is after me. But, why would you care if she found me? I'm just a human after all." She said. Hater was silent for a while, thinking over the best way to put everything. Taking off his hat he scratched his head while twirling the hat in the other hand.

"Wonderland..." his voice was sad, considering as he looked down. "Is dying." The statement was simple, straightforward. But it seemed within that one sentence the entire forest when silent. Even the small cricket noises that had followed them through the forest stopped, Goosebumps raising on Alice's arms as the silence unnerved her. "Everyday a different creature becomes extinct and every day the Queen of Hearts takes more magic. The magic that keeps Wonderland going." He looked over to Alice who was watching him carefully, the look on her face showing him that she didn't totally understand.

"Remember when you left the Tea Shop and I said that air was magic?" he asked. Alice nodded. "It is. Pure magic is what Wonderlanders breathe. Pure, un**tainted** magic. Y'see," he started explaining spinning his hat. "Your 'air' is filled with little mites and dirty little things that just love magic. If we breathed that then...well we wouldn't be Wonderland now would we? Though," he sighed, throwing the hat up in the air and catching it on his head. "The magic is running out. The Queen of Hearts is stealing the dreams from the humans and using them to keep herself young. Without those dreams..." he trailed off.

"Wonderland dies." Alice said sadly. Hatter nodded cautiously as he shrugged.

"It already is."Hatter looked to her with a meaningful glare. "That's why she **can't** get her hands on you. Even one human's dreams are enough to kill out an **entire** race. The Cheshire cats, White and Red knights are all gone, not to mention the singing flowers, Bill Lizard and **his** race. We can't risk her getting you. Who knows who'll die next." Alice watched as Hatter looked down, eyes cast over as he thought back on memories. Unsure what to do – for she was pretty much a hermit back home - she touched his shoulder awkwardly in an attempt to comfort him.

"Is there any way to stop her?" Alice asked. "Can't you...cut off her supply of dreams? How's she getting them anyway?" Hatter shrugged, standing straight in an attempt to get back some dignity.

"No one's really sure. Though there are rumours that Morpheus, the caretaker of dreams is helping her, through blackmail or personal choice nobody knows." Hatter looked to Alice who was watching him full of concern, and smiled.

"Is there any way we can get to him? Try and convince him to stop?" Alice asked. Hatter shook his head.

"He's a puppet under the Queen's spell most likely." He spat. "And anyway, the only way to break a blackmail bond is to know what's being used as blackmail in the first place."

"And there's no way of figuring that out." Alice stated as she nodded, already knowing the answer. _If they knew it, they would have broken it by now._ Hatter gave a small, sad smile and nodded.

"Anyway," he breathed in, grinning happily. "That's enough sadness for the day. We have to make it to Outland by sundown, that way we'll be ahead of schedule." Alice watched with sad eyes as Hatter walked a head, a large but obviously fake smile plastered across his face. _He isn't telling me the whole story. What on earth is going on here?_

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The downpour had started an hour ago, soaking Hatter and Alice to the bone. Alice could barely see a foot in front of her, the trees waving as if she was staring from behind a running waterfall, the overcast sky not helping.

"I told you we should have stopped at the cave!" Alice called over the rain, trudging through the sludge and mud the rain had made in her black trainers. Hatter glared at Alice's back, his jaw clenched as he climbed over the large tree branch with ease, pushing back more than he usually did in an attempt to control his anger.

"Well, so-o-r-r-r-y your **highness**." Hatter spat, fixing his hat that dormouse slept under.

"But it's not like I knew that it was going to **rain**!" Adrenaline rushed through Alice's veins, making her hands shake. Stopping she turned to him swiftly, arms held out from her sides.

"Didn't know!" she exclaimed. "The sky was **overcast** for crying out loud! That's why I suggested we stop in the first place!" Now that Alice had stopped, Hatter marched up to her, pointing a finger in her face.

"You **heard** what Toby-"

"Tobias!"

"Whatever!" he shouted, his Irish accent creeping back in. "You heard what he said. Human's don't last long in Wonderland and last time I **checked**," Hatter stepped right up to Alice, close enough that he had to look down to keep eye contact. "**Your** human and there is a card **army** after us. So I'm **sorry** if my looking out for your wellbeing is a nu-"

He stopped.

"Hatter?" No answer. "Hatter?" Still nothing. "Oh man, Hatter please don't say it's another Jabberwock." She pleaded, looking behind him but the attempt fruitless. Hatter still didn't reply, but his tense posture wasn't lost on Alice, either was the hand he held in front of her torso.

"We aren't so lucky this time." His voice was quiet through the rain, but the terror held within his shaking voice said enough.

"You are under arrest!" the thundering voice caught Alice off guard, every muscle jumping slightly in surprise, causing her to grab onto Hatter shoulder. "If you run we will open fire! I repeat we will open fire!" Her entire body began to tremble and her chest became tight as the thought of hundreds of creatures surrounding them. _Too many. Too many people. _Trying to stop herself hyperventilating, Alice gripped Hatter's shoulder tighter and slammed her eyes shut. _Calm down Alice remember what Dr McShannon said. Oh shoot, these guys _can_ hurt me. _

"Why do I suddenly have the picture of the Judoon in my head." Alice's voice panicky, her pathetic mantra of "they can't hurt me" still repeating over in over even as her breathing became more shallow.

"This isn't the **time** to talk about human things that **I **won't understand, okay!" Hatter bit back, now totally in front of her.

"Hand yourself in and you won't be harmed!" Hatter gave a cynical laugh.

"Oh **yeah**, cause taking our dreams from us before having us **killed** isn't harming us at **all** is it!" Alice almost gave out a giddy laugh at his accent, the sudden increase in oxygen in her system making her giddy, Hatter's glare swiftly turning it into a cough.

"You wouldn't happen to have plan would you?" he asked as he turned back slowly. Alice looked at him incredulously.

"Me have a plan! **You're** the guide **you** should have a bloody plan!"

"Silence or we will fire! Hand yourself in!" the booming voice interrupted. Alice gave a sad chuckle.

"They'd be a lot less scary if I could see them." She said pathetically, close to tears as her shaking became noticeable. "Do we really have a choice?" she asked, looking up to Hatter whose expression was desperate.

"No." The statement simple and breaking. "But that doesn't meaning we'll **never** have a choice." Alice gave him an incredulous look, _of all the times to go Mad on me it would be now!_

"Alice?" Hatter called, his voice so far away, as if cotton wool had been stuffed in here ears. "Alice what's wrong?" Alice faintly felt him holding her up as her legs turned to jelly and eye sight faded over.

"I-" she gasped. "I can't-breathe!" her breathed jagged and gasping as she felling down completely, Hatter her only thing keeping her up.

"I repeat! Hand yourselves-" the sound of a gunshot echoed through the air, stopping the speaker in his tracks and making Hatter jump, but Alice was unaffected, still trying to control her breathing.

"What the living Bandersnatch was that!" Hatter exclaimed, covering Alice from the fire.

"I believe the better term is **who** in the living Bandersnatch is that." An unmistakeably female voice called out. Out from behind the suffocating Alice, a cloaked figure emerged from the cover of the trees, the arm that held an old-fashioned looking gun held in the air.

"Shit." Hatter said under his breath, his tense posture relaxing, replaced with a relax one.

"This land is **off** limits! Leave now or suffer the consequences!" the woman shouted, her voice strong and demanding. _Now I feel pathetic. I can't even handle a simple situation like this._

"We will leave after the prisoners have been captur-"

"No!" the woman interrupted, pulling back the clips thus loading the gun, as a threat. "They are on my land and are now my problem. After all they cannot be prisoners until after they've been caught!"

"I am under strict orders from the Queen of-"

"I take no orders from that **swine** of a woman! Now leave!"

Everything went silent for a while, only the rain still thundering down echoing through the forest. _Calm down Alice. Breathe for Pete's sake!_

"Breathe." The woman said, now in front of Alice taking her off guard. As she went to speak the woman's palm connected with Alice's chest and a large gust of air awakened Alice's lungs making her gasp. Coughing at her rough throat, Hatter made sooting motions on her back, Alice staring wide eyed at the figure.

"What on-"

"Come with me." The woman interrupted softly, holding out her hand to Alice. The woman's face was hidden by a long black cloak, protecting her from the rain and her hands were also covered in black leather gloves that disappeared into her cloak arms, making her seem like a shadow. Hatter went to pull Alice away but the woman spotted it.

"Come with me or I call the cards **back**." She threatened. Frowning at the woman's bitter tone towards Hatter she looked to him, going to ask him what to do when she spotted his pained look.

"Hatter?" she said warily, touching his shoulder in worry. _Who is this woman?_

"Come on Alice." He said, grabbing her hand and dragging her along. The woman gave out a short chuckle in reply before turning to lead the way.

"So, Hatter. What brings you to my territory." The woman said with a smile in her voice. "The last I heard was that you weren't leaving the forest."

"I felt like a change of scenery." Alice held back a laugh at Hatter's comment, Hatter replying by squeezing her hand.

"Of course. Who's your little friend?" she asked, the smile evident in her voice. Hatter's grip on Alice's hand got stronger but she didn't mind.

"A traveller." He replied before Alice could say anything. "I'm taking her to the Looking Glass." The woman stopped.

"The Looking Glass is off limits to anyone but Morpheus. And why would a Wonderlander...Ah..." with a smile on her face, she turned to Alice's taking her off guard. "You're a human." She stated. Before Alice could say anything, Hatter interrupted.

"And we need to get her out of here, before-"

"The Queen of Hearts gets her, I know. Although that is the least of your worries." As the woman began to take down her hood Alice realised that the rain had stopped, now replaced with the soft singing of birds and the musty after rain smell.

"Come, we should leave before the cards change their minds." The woman said, her brown eyes shining with an evil glint and her bobbed platinum blonde hair hanging in front of her eyes.

"Of course." Hatter said stiffly. "Lead the way, Duchess."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Anyone get the "Judoon" reference?


	7. Curiouser and Curiouser

_He said, "You'll sentence me to six years in prison." If it was true, then the judge would have to make it false by sentencing him to four years. If it was false, then he would have to give him six years, which would make it true. Rather than contradict his own word, the judge set the man free_

_x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x_

_I am never quite what I appear to be. Straight-forward I seem, but it's only skin deep, for mystery most often lies beneath my simple speech. Sharpen your wits, open your eyes, look beyond my exteriors, read me backwards, forwards, upside down. Think critically and answer the question...what am I?_

_x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Alice glared curiously out the murky window, washing away the grime with the black tunic's sleeve. Watching as the milky glow coming from the two moons cascaded across the small village made of about 15 houses. The entire village was lit orange with burning candles that hung from decorative lanterns, women dressed much like Duchess – Alice hadn't seen any men as of yet- performed amazing gymnastics and acrobatics without any signs of tiring. _They've been at it since I've arrived. And that was hours ago._

Tugging softly at the edge of the tunic, Alice let out a sigh. The fabric was comfortable compared to the water logged poncho and jeans she had been wearing when she arrived, but like all new clothing it still didn't feel right. The smell they gave off was foreign, telling her that she didn't own them, and it just didn't seem right to wear the clothes of someone she'd just met. _Far too cynical for your own good Alice. _She scolded herself._ You should see an act of kindness when it hits you. _

The pacing from behind didn't help calm her nerves either, the footsteps repeating in sets of four, like an old fashioned dance.

_One, two, three, four. Stop, turn. One, two three, four. Stop and turn. _

"Having fun?" Alice asked sardonically from her seat at the window. Still pacing Hatter looked to Alice and smiled politely.

"A ball." He replied with an outlandish bow. Alice chuckled, turning back to the window as she shook her head. _At least I'm not the only one panicking._

Hatter knew he wasn't helping her calm, but he also knew Duchess: and what happened when you got into the middle on an argument between Duchess and the Queen of Hearts. It also didn't help his nerves when he remembered the last time he saw Duchess and her negative attitude toward him as well.

"You pull **one** prank and it's the end of the world to her." He muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Alice asked, only hearing the end of his inner conversation.

"Nothing! Nothing!" he replied, standing at attention and hand on the back of his head. "Just talking to myself again." _Yeah Hatter, why don't you just go ahead and start performing a musical about it. She'll _never_ notice then._

"Shut up." This time Alice didn't respond, although he wasn't sure whether she didn't hear him or just didn't want to hear.

"Hatter!" Alice stood as Duchess appeared, the hardwood flooring surprisingly warm on her bare feet. Hatter, however, pretty much jumped out of his skin, vaulting behind Alice, an automatic reaction from being a coward for such a long time. After giving Hatter a disappointed look, Alice looked to Duchess. She couldn't see her eyes from under the dark circular glass - like something Ozzy Osborne would wear only pure black and coke bottle thick – but she'd hazard a guess that a dark glare was focused on Hatter who had finally composed himself yet still seemed small compared to the strength that emanated from woman.

"Ah! Duchess!" he exclaimed, clasping his hand together and smiling politely. "How nice for you to join us." Stepping further into the room – in ridiculously high heeled boots - Duchess returned the mocking grin with her own, her voice calm and collected.

"Your idea of humour never ceases to amaze me Hatter." Holding out his hands with a flourish, Hatter's grin stayed on his face yet didn't reach his eyes.

"Glad to know you at least have taste in humour." Hatter replied. Duchess, gave a patronising chuckled.

"On the contrary. I'm just amazed I haven't been hired to kill you yet." Keeping her eyes on Hatter she held out the tray she had been carrying , holding a single glass of hot pink liquid, to Alice.

"Drink this." She said as she continued her staring match with Hatter. Alice, however, had watched enough crime drama's to know that drinking from a glass that you hadn't fill yourself in a strange house, was never a good idea.

"It will help." Duchess replied to her unspoken worry, eyes now faintly visible under the dark glass and now staring at her steadily. _Talk about a lioness waiting to pounce. _Alice thought. Giving the glass another cautious look Alice lifted it from the tray.

"Help with what?" she asked as she watched the liquid swirl at the disruption.

"It. Will. Help." Realising that she wasn't going to get a meaningful answer Alice took a sip. _This entire 'adventure' would be much easier if the people here didn't get offended so easil- _Stopping her thought process Alice began coughing violently, the liquid she'd just ingested kick starting her gag reflex as it gave her throat third degree burns.

"What on earth..."

"It may hurt, but you'll be dead by the morning if you don't drink every last drop." Duchess warned, every word enunciated perfectly. "I need to speak with you," Duchess turned to Hatter who went to reply before she was finished.

"_Privately_." And with that she left, her heals making no noise against the wooden floor. _Strange. _Alice thought. Letting out another disgusted cough Alice took a large gulp as Hatter began mimicking Duchess on his way out.

"I need to speak with you _pri-vate-ly._" His voice octaves higher than usual making meaningless hand motions. Scuffing his feet against the ground, and shoulders slumped Hatter followed Duchess out the door, shutting it behind him. _Wonder what it's about._

Frowning softly, a habit she had developed when confused or curious, Alice took her place back on the chair by the window.

"Curiouser and Curiouser." She mumbled unconsciously, pinching the bridge of her nose before taking another gulp.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"They've been gone for awfully long time Dormouse." Alice said, more to herself than Dormouse who was as usual fast asleep. _Talking to yourself again, eh Alice?_

"_Clocks slay time..."_ Dormouse muttered under his breath, in between snores as he snuggled into his makeshift bed of Hatter's discarded hat that he'd dropped after cowering behind Alice. _"Time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life..."_Alice paused for a couple of minutes, wondering if he was going to continue, but he never did.

_Hatter was right, he rarely does make sense._

The glass that contained the horrid liquid lay empty on the window sill, only the faint burning sensation down the back of her throat reminding her that it existed. Performers had trained and left, realising it was getting to late to practise. Her nails now bitten to extinction, fingers twitching as she fiddled with the tunic's hem, Alice began to worry about the secret conversation. _What on earth would take this long to talk about? Maybe something happened? _Alice suddenly clenched the hem of the tunic, Hatter now adding to her list of worries. Duchess seemed like she could look after herself. _And seriously hurt Hatter if need be. He does have a bad habit of saying stupid things at stupid times. And Duchess didn't seem exactly happy to see him. _

"I wonder what she wanted to talk to him about." She said shakily, trying to comfort herself.

"_Off with your head."_ Alice turned to Dormouse who had continued with his snoring.

"Dormouse?"

"What are you still doing awake Alice?" Hatter stood in the doorway, his black hair stuck up in every direction and looking like death, Duchess nowhere in sight.

"Waiting for you." She replied as Hatter collapsed onto his bed, knocking his hat with Dormouse in side onto the floor. "Hatter." No reply.

"Hatter what's going on?" As she spoke, an irritated – yet still half asleep - Dormouse crawled over to Alice's leg and began to climb, deciding that Alice's bed was a better place to sleep than anything belonging to Hatter. Still Hatter said nothing.

"For crying out loud Hatter!" From her bed, Alice stood suddenly, Dormouse clinging desperately onto the quilts of the bed. "What's going on?" her tone was calm, but demanding, Hatter could tell that this secrecy was driving Alice mad but he still didn't reply. Instead he curled up tighter on the bed, covering his head with a limp arm.

"There's nothing to talk about." He mumbled from under his arm. "Now go to sleep." Clenching her teeth at his patronising tone, Alice tugged at the sleeve of the tunic tightly to control her anger.

Not that it helped.

"Hey!" Hatter sat up, clutching the pillow Alice had just thrown at him, "That could have hit me!" Ignoring Hatter's protests, Alice picked up a black slipper from the floor and threw it at him, this time hitting the target.

"That's **kinda** the point!" Alice teased, brandishing another slipper. "Now you, **will**__answer my questions before I get something heavier." Hatter narrowed his eyes.

"You wouldn't." Alice started back steadily in reply, giving the slightest of daring smiles.

"Try me." When Hatter didn't reply, Alice went to pick up his – much larger - shoes but was stopped when he tackled her, knocking her to the ground.

"What on-! She exclaimed as she hit the ground, the force of her head against the wooden floorboards making her see butterflies for a couple of seconds. As she regained her sight she found Hatter straddling her, shoe in hand.

"Get off me!" Hatter smiled slyly, dropping the shoes and now leaning closer, pinning her to the floor by her wrists.

"Why?" he asked innocently, noticing the way her pale face got just the slightest bit pinker than usual. "Am I making you uncomfortable?" his voice dropping an octave, leaning close to her ear.

Alice, not amused or affected by his act stopped struggling and glared at him darkly.

"Yes, you're heavy, now get off." Frowning in confusion that he was having no major effect on her, Hatter began to remove his weight.

"Promise not to throw anymore shoes?" glaring at him with one open eye, Alice nodded reluctantly, looking away, trying to hide her panicked breathing. "Or slippers, or any other possible projectile object?"

"Fine." She grinned darkly at him. Hatter gave a wide smile back and patted her check.

"Good girl." Standing slowly, Hatter helped Alice stand, going back to his bed on the other side of the room. Alice refused to look to Hatter, still trying to stop her shaking and heavy breathing. _He was only teasing Alice. He wasn't going to hurt you. Remember what Dr McShannon said._ Despite Alice's attempts to control herself, Hatter still noticed the slight shaking coming from the red head. Crunching up his nose at the sickly feeling in his stomach, Hatter scratched the back of his head and sighed. Picking up her pillow from his bed, Hatter walked over to Alice and placed a hand on her shoulder. Alice jumped slight and turned her head to see Hatter.

"Get some sleep Alice." He said, handing her back her pillow with a gentleman's smile. "I'll tell you everything later. Promise."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"I'm not so sure about this."Alice said warily the next morning, as a blue skinned woman circled her much like Hatter had done when they first met. Duchess grinned from her spot in the corner, dressed less manically than the day before, more business meeting and less nightclub.

"Luckily for you, I am. Try to keep it casual, Asasha." She motioned to the woman. Bowing low, the woman turned to a large walk in wardrobe, shutting it behind her to give them the privacy Duchess had ordered.

"Spit it out Alice." Giving Duchess an innocent look, Alice gave a small smile.

"Pardon?"

"I'm not blind Alice." She said, crossing her arms over her chest, glaring at her like an amused yet disappointed parent. "Or stupid. I can see a question waiting to be asked." Twiddling her thumbs and looking down to the ground, Alice refused to meet Duchess' gaze. Even though she looked only a couple of years older than Alice herself, Duchess carried herself differently. Pictures of lioness and tigers came to mind when Alice thought or saw her. Poised and ready to attack at any moment.

"Hatter's refusing to tell me about what you talked about. I guess the worry is just starting to get to me." she replied honestly. Hatter had disappeared from his bed when Alice woke up, and just as she was wiping the sleep from her eyes Duchess and her lackeys barged in, dragging her into the room she currently occupied.

"The Queen knows what you look like. Might as well change your image to give you more time out of her detection." Duchess had explained as the other woman had been measuring her.

"Hatter hasn't told you?" She asked, only the slightest note of surprise coming through.

"Told me what?" Duchess' cold and calculating eyes watched the mousy, red hair woman curiously, the fact that she hadn't looked up since she'd been dragged into the room not escaping her notice.

"You're dying Alice." She replied in a nonchalant manner, fixing her black leather gloves.

Alice froze.

_I'm...dying?_

Before, Alice could think of anything to say, the woman pushed open the doors to the walk in wardrobe with a flourish gesture.

_I'm. Dying._

Pushing Alice behind the wooden screen, the woman gave her a pile of clothing, all unlabelled.

_But I feel fine. Maybe hyperventilating more often but..._ Shutting her eyes tight, reality began to hit. Since she'd arrived in Wonderland the attacks had been happening more often, and getting worse and worse as she stayed. Maybe Duchess was right...

"What..." Alice began, trying to find the correct words. "What do you mean by...I'm dying?" she asked, slipping off the temporary tunic she had been wearing.

"Haven't you noticed that since you've arrived in Wonderland you're breathing has become more irregular. You almost suffocated when the card guards ambushed you." Frowning as she pulled on the long flowing cream blouse Alice shook her head. Erase all other possible routes, that's what her dad had always told her. Make sure that what you know and what you believe are the only possible answers. If there's room for doubt then it could be wrong. That was the thought process of a god Detective Chief Inspector.

Thinking about her dad brought back the familiar bought of guilt that she had been repeatedly told was pointless by her mum. _You did what was best for you. Not for him._

"Alice?" Alice quickly snapped back to reality, realising that she'd been silent for longer than normal.

"I..." she started, clearing her throat. "I suffer from Panic Attacks." She said with a sad smile. "Ever since I was 14 I would... freeze up and hyperventilate when in stressful situations or crowded places. Almost suffocation for silly reasons is a normal occurrence for me." _Erase all possibilities._ Alice thought to herself. _This is a possibility._ Duchess shook her head with a knowing smile.

"These aren't ...panic attacks as you call them. " Duchess assured her, stepping forward. "Trust me. I've seen humans dying before, all of them from this type of poisoning." Stepping out from behind the screen, now dressed properly in jeans and a top, Alice gave Duchess a questioning look.

"Poisoning?" she asked as she tied her hair up in a quick ponytail.

"To humans the air we breathe is toxic, and seeing that humans breathe in at double the rate of a Wonderlander, you've got about a week to live before the air becomes toxic. And then about three days before you die **very** painfully. So," Duchess started, standing up straight and smiling as kindly as possible – although it came out as more of a smirk. "How about we get you home as quickly as possible."

Alice couldn't deny that Duchess' seemingly calm facade helped her control her frazzled nerves. _She just told me that I'm going to die in a very painful way if I don't get out of here in a week and yet she's acting like she just told me the tea's getting cold. Maybe everything will be okay. Or she's just a cold and calculating woman that doesn't care about my wellbeing. _

Meanwhile, Hatter was outside the Club, pacing like he had been the night before, only now mumbling nonsense words to himself.

"I can't tell her." He said to Dormouse under his hat. "But she needs to know. But what if she blames me? I can't tell her. But she has to know...Ugh!" he threw his head up to the hair, taking his hat off to run a hand through his hair. "This is too hard!"

"Hatter?" Jumping at the sudden appearance of Alice, Hatter turned to see her standing beside Duchess.

"Alice." He smiled kindly, trying not to look as if he was looking her over. "Ready to go?" holding out his arms in question. Alice nodded softly as she watched Hatter with an accusing gaze. _Had he even planned to tell me?_

"I'd recommend going past the old High Wizard grounds," Duchess said, as Alice went over to Hatter. "Try and avoid the Cats for obvious reasons." Duchess drawled, the dark glare Duchess directed at Hatter as he mumbled under his breath.

"I'm not that stupid."

"Keep to the borders of the Pixies and Sprites also. They're known for violent behaviour."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait." Hatter stopped her, waving his hands from side to side. "That's the way to the White Queen. Sorry to burst your bubble Duchy but where trying to get to the Looking Glass, not meet the Queen for tea." Alice turned to Hatter with a mixture of shock and admiration as he spoke to Duchess, the woman he'd been cowering at only hours before. Lips twitching up ever so slightly, Duchess clenched her fists and lowered her head as she glared.

"Sorry to burst **your** **bubble** **Hatter**." She spat. "But I just got word that the Looking Glass has been moved." Composing herself she looked to Alice, standing up straight to tower over them both.

"Unfortunately no one knows where to and your best bet on getting that information is to-"

"See the White Queen." Hatter finished, dejected. Grinning darkly, Duchess nodded. Sighing deeply, Hatter turned towards the forest and started walking, muttering under his breath. Alice went to follow when Hatter quickly backtracked, as if forgetting something.

"Oh, before I forget Duchess." He said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Remember," he started, pointing to her as he spoke slowly as if to a child. "At the end of the day...it's night." Alice choked in a laugh as Duchess went to hit him over the head but he quickly dogged, running backward and lifting his hat in reply with a large grin on his face.

_Needing to have the last word._ Alice thought, once again having to cover up a laugh as he fell over an invisible obstacle. _How utterly...childish._

"One more thing Alice." Grabbing her arm, Duchess leaned in close to Alice's ear watching with Alice as Hatter picked himself up.

"Watch out with that one. I've heard of Hatter's escapades and none of them are good."

"What are you talking about?" Alice laughed. Duchess grinned sadistically as she watched Hatter slip again.

"He's a bit cowardly. Isn't he?" she said, voice slow and considering. Turning her head slowly to see Duchess' face, Alice frowned in confusion at the sadistic grin. _She knows something I don't. _Before Alice could think of a reply, Duchess gave Alice a forceful shove towards Hatter causing Alice to trip over her own feet a couple of times as she regained her balance.

"Goodbye Alice of Upperground." She called as Alice ran to catch up Hatter, the familiar speed of fear interlaced with her run. "I hope you find what you're looking for!"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x


	8. The Dog Days Are Over

_A Riddle_

v-v-v-v-v-v-v

_I am a tale in children's minds. I keep their secrets and share them inside. I blur their thoughts into fantasies kept like a canvas of art or a submarine depth. Though an illusion, it occurs every night; I give them a fantasy, I give them a fright. Nor good or bad, but always nigh? It's interesting to tell. What am I?_

v-v-v-v-v-v-v

"Would you prefer to be attacked by 50 duck sized Jabberwocky's or a Jabberwock sized duck?" Alice looked to Hatter with an incredulous look, stepping over another over grown root.

"Seriously?" she asked, laugher imminent in her voice.

"Its an honest question!" Hatter said wide eyed and insulted. "I heard from a man who heard it from another man who heard it from his cousins sister's friend's fiancé that there was a man who was attacked by 50 baby Jabberwocky's at the same time." Shaking his head, he took of his hat in mourning. "Lost both his shoes, and his best hat that day apparently." Hatter smirked proudly as Alice let out a spluttering laugh. He liked it when she laughed, her entire face lit up and it was infectious. When he heard her laugh he couldn't help but laugh with her. It was a nice change from her usual look of worry and confusion.

"It's true!" he exclaimed, slipping his hat back on with a flourish as Alice composed herself.

"Yeah," she said as she wiped her eyes. "I'm sure it is."

"So? Which is it?" Hatter asked, elbowing her lightly.

"Which what?"

"Which would you prefer?" Alice thought for a minute, over dramatising the pause for Hatter's sake. Honestly, she was enjoying the random questions pouring from Hatter's mouth. Both of them knew that their knowledge was limited to their own world so a game of 20 Questions involving Favourite such and such questions would get them nowhere.

" Attacked by 50 duck sized Jabberwocky's but I'd like the keep the Jabberwock sized duck."

"Why?" Alice shrugged.

"Who doesn't what to have a giant duck as a pet?" That earned Alice a laugh from Hatter.

"What about you?" Hatter scratched his head.

"Jabberwock sized Duck. After all you don't hear of Ducks attacking people."

"That's because they're tiny!" Alice replied matter of factly. "They're too small to do anything and they know it." Hatter chuckled and patted Alice on the shoulder, as if she was sorely misinformed.

"What's the worst that could happen with a giant duck? He eats the world's supply of bread? Alice?" Hatter stopped as he realised that Alice wasn't following, but standing behind as if frozen to the ground.

"Don't you hear it?" she asked.

"Hear what?"

"I don't know...sounds like giggling to me." Alice frowned and shook her head, her wild red hair bouncing around her face. Hatter gave her an incredulous look.

"Giggling? I took you more as a murderous scream type." Hatter was quickly rendered speechless as Alice gave him and evil glare. "Sorry for giving my opinion, sheesh!" he said. "Your stare could freeze continents y'know!" Alice shook her head like a disappointed mother and walked forward. Despite the mindless –and yet entertaining – chatter that they'd been engaged in since that morning, Alice was still thinking about what Duchess had said a week earlier. The more she thought about it the more she realised that what the mad blonde had said made no sense. Yes, there where points where Hatter was cowardly however they were usually caused by Duchess or Jabberwockys, something she could relate to. Most of the time, Hatter had been _protecting_ her. He offered to take her to the Looking Glass, helped her run from the Jabberwock. Gone back to get her when she ran back for Tobais, covered her as she stood, petrified, in the forest as card guards surrounded them. _But I've only been here for what? A week?_ Time seemed to move differently in Wonderland, she wasn't sure what counted for a day but she knew that it gotten dark several times since she'd been here. _How can I be sure about Hatter if I've only known him for a week?_

_And he still hasn't told you about the death sentence._ Alice flinched as she remembered Duchess' ominous revelation behind Alice's "panic attacks".

_He looked a bit worried when I came out._ Alice thought, _Maybe he's planning to._ But even that didn't convince her. They'd been on the road for a week now, sleeping on the ground or in caves scattered across the Jungle – according to Hatter called the Ilarian Jungle – yet he'd still not brought it up. _As if he's doesn't want me to know._

"Hatter." Alice said, slowly slightly. "Duchess..." Hatter turned as she trailed off, her wary and accusing tone worrying him.

"Duchess?" he started, raising an eyebrow. "You listened to the blonde bobbed psycho? Remember, she makes her living off killing and tricking people-" Alice, tired of listening to his excuses stopped, glaring darkly at Hatter's back.

"Duchess told me that I was dying Hatter!" Hatter froze in mid-step. He could feel Alice's gaze on his back and tried desperately to keep facing forward.

"_What!" _ he exclaimed with theatrical finesse as he turned. "Why didn't she-"

"And!" she stopped him. "That you knew and where supposed to tell me that night." Alice didn't back down as he looked her in the eyes, and he couldn't pull his gaze away. Her pale blue eyes were cold, calculating. Yet even he didn't miss the fact that they were become red. He'd hurt her. He realised that. He asked her for her trust and she gave it, and yet here he was, lying to her to get out of a situation that scared him.

_What if she hates me?_

"_Unless your heart, your soul, and your whole being are behind every decision you make, the words from your mouth will be empty, and each action will be meaningless. Truth and confidence are the roots of happiness."_ Hatter sighed as Dormouse finished his beloved quotes and looked up as he scratched the back of his head.

"I'm sorry." Alice scoffed, and began walking forward, pushing Hatter out the way roughly.

"I'm sorry. Yeah great excuse Hatter." She spat. "Sorry I didn't tell you that you're _dying!"_

Hatter clenched his teeth as he followed her, grabbing hold of her shoulder.

"I'm sorry about everything Alice. I was just scared-"

"Scared?" Alice turned, to face Hatter her eyes wide as if what he was saying was ridiculous. "You're__scared!" she let out a bitter chuckle. "I'm in a strange world being lead around by a cowardly _lunatic_!" Hatter flinched. "I have been chased by over grown Catfish, slept in a cave, ambushed by Judoon wannabe's, I have a death sentence from the Queen of Hearts over my head and on top of _that _ Wonderland is trying to kill me. So I think I have a little more right to be _scared_ than you do." Alice marched off, pushing the branches back with a little more force than necessary. _This girl is going to be the death of me. _Hatter thought as he ran a hand down his face and massaging his eyes to get rid of a growing headache.

"Alice I didn't mean it like that. Alice?" Hatter stopped as he realised Alice hadn't interrupted him yet, the forest quiet. "Alice!" No one replied.

v-v-v-v-v-v-v

Her teeth clenched and hands now fists, Alice muttered nonsense under her breath as she violently pushed branches out the way. Angry tears clouded her vision but she quickly brushed them off. She didn't know why she felt so betrayed by Hatter, she'd only known him a week yet at that moment she just had so much anger bubbling up inside her she could barely control it.

"I trusted him." She muttered softly, her anger starting to disperse. Slowly, she collapsed against the tree, her breathing ragged and palms sweating. Faint chirping sounds formed around her as she tried to control her breathing, like those she heard from crickets above ground. Only it was more like a harmony, sad and slow. Yet it was this sad harmony that was causing her muscles to tense and head to pound.

"This...must be...what...Duchess...was talking about." She breathed, trying to disperse the fog that was forming in her vision with rapid blinking.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." The voice was monotone, low, yet she could hear the hint of humour there. Almost mean, sardonic yet with a hint of a fatherly tone. Like a parent, explaining to a child that what they were doing was a bad idea. Alice's head shoot up, her head spinning around as she desperately tried to find where it came from.

"You're not looking the right way." The voice said again, mockingly for above her. Finally, her gaze landed on a large grin hovering in front on her face, only a grin and nothing else.

"Wh-wha-" the grin chuckled, dark violet eyes appearing before gray fur with purple stripes sprouted forming a head that hovered in front of her.

"Its rude to gawk you know." Alice watched the cat like creature before her with wide eyes, her hands gripping the protruding roots beside her.

"Who are you?"

"Don't you mean 'what' are you?" it replied, blinking innocently.

"I didn't say what, I said who." The cathead laughed, bobbing up and down, grinning with glee. With a flourish, the cat spun round on its back before lifting the tuff of hair on his head up, as if it was a hat.

"Cheshire Cat, at your service." It replied. Letting out the breath she'd been holding, Alice let the previous fear wash out of her. _Cheshire Cat. He's good in the book...right?_

_Miss Mary, Mack, Mack.._.

"What was that?" Alice asked the cat but he'd disappeared from his spot hovering in front of her.

"It's rude to start a new conversation when the previous one isn't finished." Alice snapped her head up to see Cheshire sitting on a tree branch, his tail swinging from side to side.

_All dressed in black, black..._

"Are you sure you can't hear it?" She said, standing quickly and looking around for the source of the chanting. "Cheshire chuckled under his breath, spinning around in the air.

"I _did_ hear that you were a bit of a mad one. But I never thought you be as mad as a hatter." Alice brushed Cheshire's statement off, straining to hear the soft chanting.

_She had a knife, knife, stuck in her back, back. _

"I think I've gone mad." She whispered, running a hand through her curled hair as she took steps away from where she believed the voices where coming from.

"You say that as if you're the only one." The cat disappeared again, reappearing beside Alice's head, talking over her shoulder.

"Although I hate to cut out meeting and conversation short," the cat continued as the Alice watched the forest with meticulous care. "I would recommend running now dear Alice. The children never do seem to realise when they go too far with their games." Alice looked back up to see that Cheshire had disappeared.

"Wait!" she cried. "How do you know my-"

_She cannot breathe, breathe..._

"Name." Alice trailed off as the chanting grew louder. Cheshire was nowhere to be seen, the words getting louder and louder as they carried on. Something was coming, and if she listened to Cheshire it was coming for her.

Alice dashed through the woods behind, only thinking that runaway from the voices would help her get away.

_She cannot cry, cry..._

And yet with each step the chanting got louder.

Jumping over roots and smashing through branches - she was convinced were saying "ow" as she broke them – Alice forced her legs to keep running.

_Why did I walk away from Hatter! How stupid can I get!_

_That's why she begs, begs..._

Alice paused in a clearing, trying to catch her breath yet her throat was rough and raw, her breathing just making her feel worse, as if she was going to throw up. Everything seemed like it was spinning, the same feeling she got when her panic attacks attacked.

_She begs to die, die._

Gaining control of her breathing once more, Alice speed off again. The voices hadn't seemed to have gotten any further away that before, in fact they seemed even closer.

_They're following me, they can see where I'm-_

Alice was cut off as her foot became trapped under a root, causing the ground to give way beneath her, sending her slamming towards the ground. She hit the dirt with a thud, small stars blocking her vision.

_I must be dreaming._ She through deliriously._ I'm seeing clowns._

Several clown like people surrounded her, the smallest of them – a little girl she believed as she was in a dress - was closest to her and watching her with violet eyes, a black stripe over them like a mask. Her hair was a pale violet frizzing and stuck out in every direction as if all the moisture had been sucked out. She was dressed in what looked like a glorified potato sack, white with different coloured shaped covering it, her feet bare.

Alice tried desperately to stand but her muscles where too tired and she was losing consciousness fast.

"_Hatter"_ she mumbled softly. The smallest clown stood closer to her and put a soft hand on her cheek, her hand freezing yet smile warm and comforting.

"Mummy."

v-v-v-v-v-v-v


	9. Protege Moi

_A Dream_

_v-v-v-v-v-v_

_A man kills his wife, and many people watch him do so. Yet none will be able to accuse him of murder._

_Why?_

_v-v-v-v-v-v_

The second sun that looked over Wonderland was beginning to set as Hatter tumbled through the forest, pushing through the plant life and sludge made by damp leaves.

"Alice! Alice! Alice can you hear me?" Hatter continued to push through thick foliage, tripping over the large protruding roots and piles of mud. His head was spinning and a dull ache was growing in the side of his head, as if someone was using a dull saw to cut through his skull. He'd been searching for hours now, and yet Alice was nowhere to be seen. The light was slowly fading, and without the light of day he knew that finding Alice would get that much harder.

"Alice!" He cried again, now begging to the forest.

"If she had heard you she would have replied you know." Hatter jumped a foot in the air, spinning to face the culprit before falling backwards. He hit the ground with a thud, the air knocked out of him for a second. Crawling backwards he glared at the long bearded man in front of him, a squeaking lamping jumping up and down beside him, illuminating the darkening forest.

"Tobias?" Tobias looked away from the trees in front of him to Hatter, a large rugged stick held in his hands and a confused looked on his face.

"Hm? Oh yes, that's me." He laughed as he tugged his floppy brown pointed hat further down, blocking his eyes. Hatter stared at the old man with wide eyes, as if trying to see if he was really standing there. After all, Wonderland at sundown wasn't like Wonderland during the day. Even the sanest of Wonderland residents would go madder if they spent time in the forest during the night. As they say, the shadows like the play tricks.

"But...you're out of your cave!" Tobias frowned and looked around, scratching the mess of black hair hidden under the hat, Lux following suit. "Oh, so I am." He replied as if just realising. "I thought it was a bit too cold." Hatter glowered at the kind smile the old man gave him, muttering under his breath as picked up his hat.

Tobias said. "So you've lost the human girl-"

"Alice." Tobias ignored him.

"Then? Weren't you supposed to be watching her?"

"Hey! Listen here! I was watching her. She's the one who...ran off!"

_Heh, heh, heh._

"Did you hear that?" Hatter asked. Tobias frowned deeply.

"If you're referring to the laughter then yes, I did hear it." Both men looked to each other.

"Aw shit." Hatter said before taking off through the trees and towards the laughing.

He finally reached a large clearing, close to a small lake that Hatter didn't recognise – which was something as Hatter had memorized the map of Wonderland during one of the more boring days. Streamers and lanterns littered the trees and grass, along with bucket loads of glitter which had already covered Hatter. Small children, who looked like crude, DIY, clowns in makeup and ribbons, danced about, laughing and giggling. He couldn't stop the shiver run down his spine as he watched them. It always did with the Lost Children. They moved as if they were being controlled by a puppeteer, their movement's irregular and wrong, each one had the same blues eyes and perfect skin. No one knew exactly where they came from, or what they were. There were rumours of course, that they were human children that had fallen down the rabbit hole and become twisted through the magic Wonderland possessed. Or that they were created by Morpheus himself, puppet creatures that roamed Wonderland looking for lost souls like them.

Hatter thought they were both silly rumours, yet even he had no explanation.

A large table was set out in the middle of the clearing, covered in foods Hatter had never seen before. And in the centre sat Alice.

But she looked different. Her hair was in a loose ponytail, glitter covered her face making her seem like the pixies that hung around the Tea Shop. She wore a similar outfit to that of the children but unlike them, a DIY crown sat on her head. From what he could see it was purely made of flowers and twigs, obviously made by the children. She sat on the largest seat round the table, her eyes glazed over as she stared straight ahead, the smudged clown makeup making her blue eyes look almost white.

_What have they done to you Alice?_

"The Lost Children." Hatter pursed his lips to stop himself shouting at the old man's sudden appearance. Turing slowly to him, Hatter refrained from pushing Tobias over, but only just. "They always did like to steal people away."

"They think she's their mum Tobias!" he whispered. "You know what they do to those who are their 'mum'. How are we to get her away when she's like that!" he motioned to the comatose Alice. Not getting a reply from the wizard, Hatter looked away muttering, trying to sort through the ideas running through his head.

"We could always try distracting them. Throw something that will make them investigate. What do you think Tobias? Tobias?" He turned to shout at the wizard but didn't find him there. "Tobias!"

"Um, excuse me!" Hatter froze and turned towards the clearing slowly. The festivities had stopped, the children looking at Tobias as if he was some sort of strange creature. "I was wondering if you could help me. I've gotten a bit lost you see." Subtly, Tobias waved Hatter towards Alice behind his back, keeping the children occupied. Hatter chuckled.

"For and old geezer he had guts." Pushing his hat down he snuck over to Alice's seat at the table, avoid the children's gaze. He had to hand it to Tobias, he knew how to hold children's attention.

Finally he reached Alice, who looked worse for wear now he saw the damage. Her already pale skin was now a dull grey, the glitter only covering the real damage.

"Come on Alice. We have to go now." He said softly, tapping her face. But she didn't reply. Swearing under his breath he took another look to Tobias and tried again.

"Alice you have to wake up. I can't carry you." Yet still no reply. "Alice look at me!" grabbing her face he turned her so she looked him in the eyes. Hatter paled.

She didn't say anything but her eyes spoke enough. In the light of the lanterns, her eyes glistened, a golden spark going in and out of brightness.

"Shit!" he shouted, covering his mouth instantly. The children had heard him, looking up he saw a dozen pairs of small eyes watching him like a hawk.

Realising that talking would be pointless he grabbed Alice and hefted her over his shoulder. She wasn't the lightest thing in the world, her weight already felt on his damaged back, but she was light enough to carry.

"Tobias run!"

But he was already too late, the children's eyes where changing for the innocent pale blue to a bright, angry red. Their face morphed drastically, allowing their over sized, needle sharp teeth to be revealed as an ear shattering scream echoed through the forest, throwing dead leaves of the trees.

Both men dashed out of the clearing, Lux following closely behind. The children followed and gained quickly.

"You really should practise whispering." Tobias called, running at a good pace given his stature, his staff helping him propel forward. "It can be a useful ability at times."

Hatter grunted, shifting Alice over his shoulder. "Really? I would never have thought of that one!" Suddenly Tobias stopped and began feeling around in mid air.

"What the hell are you doing you old loon, their after us!" Hatter cried. Tobias ignored him and continued working.

"Tobias...Oh." As Tobias stood back from the place he previously stood, a bright white light appeared the area pushing backwards to reveal a small doorway. Hatter reddened. He hadn't realised he was so close to the doorway he'd told Alice about, he'd been to worried about Alice's disappearance to check the map and the lack of daylight made the forest look the same in every direction. _But you were still the 'guide' you should have remembered. _

Muttering softly, he shifted Alice again so he was carrying her bridal style, her eyes still wide open but vacant.

"Shall we?" Tobias asked, motioning for Hatter to go first. "This should take us to the Sprite Borders, just before the Queen's Land." Tobias stated as he followed behind, shutting the door. The room was dark, but they were only there for seconds before another door opened in front of them, a large open field full of poppies.

"Super." Hatter said. "Poppies."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Pixie Dust?"

"Looks like it."Hatter sighed and looked back over to where Alice sat motionless as Tobias thought over Hatter's words. It was the next morning, Tobias and Hatter taking to sleeping on a small patch of ground. Alice still hadn't come too, her eyes still focused ahead and shining gold as the light hit them, but Hatter knew the reason behind it. "But how on earth did the Lost Children get their hands on it?" he thought out loud. "Pixies aren't the easiest things to catch. Trust me, I've tried."

Tobias was quiet, looking down at the gravelled ground. Poppies still surrounded them, but the qualities that made people collapse at the mere sight of them was gone, ran out several months earlier. They wouldn't be back to that stage for another year which relieved Hatter. He didn't need any more drama with Alice they way she was. Tobias spoke.

"I believe the Lost Children are looked after by the Cheshire Cats. They are known to be rather sneaky."

"But I thought the Cheshire cats had died out with the Wizards?"

"So had I. But I survived the Wizard's genocide, why couldn't one of the Cats have done the same?"

"Good point. I guess your tagging along then?" Tobias nodded.

"Might as well. I'm not sure of the way back. And I don't think the children will take to me very well now." Chuckling under his breath Hatter looked around, the first sun of Wonderland starting to peer over the silhouettes of two castles in the distance. Stuffing his hands in his pockets he said.

"We should probably leave now. We can't let Alice remain like this for much longer."

Without a word Tobias stood as Hatter lifted Alice. Her eyes were still open and vacant, her red hair had fallen out of the pony tail and she still looked like one of the Lost Children. Once again her eyes gave off a flash of gold. They didn't have much time.

"You ready Tobias? Tobias?" Turning to the older man Hatter found him doubled over, gasping for air. He went to go over to him but the words had already been said.

"Card guards." A chill ran down Hatter's spine. He stood perfectly still.

"Now?" his voice was demanding, his jaw clenched.

"There at the door. We've got about an hour's head start."

He had no time to lose. Hatter nodded as he took a gulp.

"Better get going then."

They travelled quickly, Lux jumping ahead because, apparently –as Tobias had told Hatter- Lux had seen the Queen's before the mess had started. Lux knew the simplest way to the castles without arousing suspension or getting caught in the traps. Like the poppies.

"We're about half mile out now Hatter. We should be there in about 10 minutes. It'll be okay." Resisting the temptation to make a remark Hatter smiled softly at the old man, and began walking faster. Suddenly Lux began jumping up and down on the spot, making soft squeaking noises and motioning behind them. Both men turned, paling at the sight of white and red.

"I think now would be the perfect time to run." They did.

Although the run was much harder with Alice in his arms they still managed to stay ahead of the guards who noticed them only seconds after they took off.

10 minutes. Only 10 minutes away.

Finally the walls of the White Queen's castle came into view, and as they ran to the white brick pathway, a young woman dressed in a white dress came running out, her pale blue eyes unfocused as they flitted across the scene.

The guards were on their tails, almost grabbing the hem of Hatter's coat as they the two men crossed line. The woman was already at their side, waving her arm in front of her, reinforcing the magical field that surrounded the castle ground.

"Go back to you Queen." She said, her arms moving around softly as if independent from her body. "You have no power here." The guards stopped, looking to a larger guard, who was covered in so many scars his skin was rugged and thick. They looked like the stereotype of a troll, with thick skin, and straggly hair, but instead of a nose there was a grotesque snout that twitched as the guards looked at each other.

They didn't say a word, but the larger one grunted and the others backed off, never turning their backs on the White Queen. When the guards where far enough away from castle the Queen spoke.

"Bring her inside. My sister will need to take a look."

The White Queen led the group to one of the guest rooms in the castle, the chess guards carrying Alice in place of Hatter who followed behind, trying to keep up with the Queen's fast pace. She stopped to speak to a knight chess guard who stood beside the door.

"Ask my sister to come to the 1st guest room at once." She said softly. The knight nodded, eyes flickering warily to the group beside her.

"Place her on the bed." The Queen said to the guards that now carried the unconscious Alice, as she motioned to a double bed in the centre of the white and pale blue room.

"How long has she been like this?" she asked, as she waved her hand over a desk, causing bottles and boxes of questionable content to appear.

"A-about a day," Hatter replied. "The Lost Children caught her and put Pixie dust in her eyes. She's been unresponsive ever since." Hatter watched as Alice was placed on the bed. Suddenly the door slammed open and a second woman - who looked identical to the Queen – sauntered into the room, her red dress that was covered in tiny crystals trailing across the floor as she walked towards Alice.

"Ah, so this is the girl you were talking about sister. And here I thought she'd be a feisty little thing." Grabbing several bottles she poured some from each-rather haphazardly –into a large pot, fizzing as they came into contact. "It's a good thing you arrived on time." She said to Hatter. "She's barely breathing as it is." She smiled slyly as she pulled crow's feet out from one of the boxes and threw them into the pot. Hatter looked to Alice in panic. "Don't worry; she'll be fine now that she's here. Come here sister." She left the pot as it boiled going to the other side of the bed, opposite her sister. As they joined hands, they began muttering words under their breaths. Words Hatter had only ever seen in the books on the old days.

"Cover your eyes." Tobias whispered as he leaned over to Hatter. Frowning, Hatter turned back to Alice only to cover his eyes quickly. A small crystal, no bigger than a child's fist, hung in mid-air above Alice's chest, glowing bright amber. The Red Queen smiled.

"Now that is interesting."

Hatter looked to Tobias in confusion but the older man gave nothing away in his expression. This was wrong, even Hatter knew this. Dream crystals where rarely removed from their host, and when they were – for he had only seen it done twice before – they were never that bright.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked as the crystal returned to Alice's chest.

"It's Wonderland. It's killing her. I suspected as much, poor humans can't take so much magic in one sitting." The queen replied, pouting. Seeing Hatter incredulous look she sighed and went over to the pot. "In layman's terms, her body couldn't handle the sudden influx of magic from the pixie dust, a human's body rarely can, especially in such circumstances." With practiced ease she poured the mixture in the pot into a glass, the liquid grungy and a dull orange.

"This should help her this time, but she won't last long her afterwards. I believe Duchess told you as much while you where there?" The White Queen asked as her sister gave Alice the mixture. Tobias nodded, Hatter still watching Alice.

"You will need to get her out of here. One more human sacrifice and the Queen of Hearts carelessness will wipe out almost all of Wonderland."

"We understand your majesty." Tobias said, bowing slightly. Smiling at the Wizard she said.

"You can stay here until the girl is better. In the meantime I believe you have some questions for us?"

v-v-v-v-v-v-v

_A/N: I apologize for the three month hiatus. And I hope this makes up for it. Hopefully this hiatus between chapters won't become a thing. _

_Thank you for being patience. _


	10. Psychobabble

_He was doing his job. He was the Executioner. _

_v-v-v-v-v-v-v_

_Each morning I appear  
To lie at your feet,  
All day I will follow  
No matter how fast you run,  
Yet I nearly perish  
In the midday sun_

_What am I?_

_v-v-v-v-v-v-v_

Alice woke in a sweat, breathing heavily as she jerked again to snap herself out of the sleep induced haze.

A nightmare, that much was obvious. The familiar tingling feeling, of just having escaped near death slowly began to disperse, leaving her shivering from both the cold and the lack of blood sugar running through her veins. Her mouth was fuzzy, and her head felt full of cotton wool which was never a good state to wake up in, especially in dark room.

Sitting up, she realised that the room she was in was unknown to her, looking more like something from a palace than the forest bed she last remembered. With the entire room looking like it was made from marble and glass, Alice felt small and cold in the large, empty space.

One of the moons of Wonderland shone in through the window, lighting up the room as it bounced off the marble. Scratching her head she blinked in an attempt to rid herself of excess sleep, yet the cloud remained.

Everything felt wrong somehow, numb. As if she'd been given a barrel full of pain killers without being told, or – more ominously- she'd been drugged to keep quiet. Yet, despite the fact the room was unknown to her; it didn't seem as if she was in any immediate danger. No guards stood at her bedside, and she wasn't chained to the bed or in a cell. Where ever she was, the owner was a friend, not a foe. However that didn't explain the anesthetised feeling that washed over her everything she moved her head. Clearing her throat, she spoke softly.

"Hatter?" Her echo was her only reply, bouncing off the walls back to her. Uncomfortable under the clinging sheets, she pushed the white covers away and stepped onto the cold marble floor. She needed to find Hatter. If he was here then she knew she was safe.

"Hatter?" Still getting no reply she looked out into the hallway. It was lighter than her room, windows covered the wall opposite her room, and the candelabras on the walls where lit. Yet it was empty.

"Hello?" crossing her arms over her chest, as she didn't feel at all comfortable in the tunic nightgown she was wearing, she let the door close behind her and continued forward.

She didn't like this, the emptiness. She was used to it of course, living in the shop for two months had gotten her used to creepy places at night, but after two weeks of having someone around, closely around, the fact she was in a strange place alone without Hatter or Dormouse worried her – in reality it scared her but she'd never admit that fact, especially to Hatter.

_Get a grip Alice. You can look after yourself. You're no damsel in distress._

Standing up straight, Alice continued ahead. She had to admit, she often gave herself good advice, the only trouble came when she ignored it.

_Common Sense, ladies and gentlemen._ She thought, shaking her head. _The degrading voice inside your head. _

Alice stopped. Finally she could hear something, although it was faint. A knocking if she was correct. But it sounded wrong somehow. Muffled. Like a dead man knocking on his coffin door.

"Hello." Alice called out softly, heading towards the knocking. As she got closer it began to sound less and less like knocking, more like someone drumming their fingers against a wooden table. Anxious. Irritated.

"_Alice." _Alice froze. That voice wasn't Hatter's, nor anyone else she knew. It was rough, a voice she'd heard coming only from chain smokers or damage throats. The fact she was alone quickly returned to her, even with her sense screaming at her to get back into her room.

"_A-l-ice."_ The way it stretched out her name, as if it was a delicate flower sent cold shivers down her spine, sweat trickling down her neck causing her hairs to stand on end. She could no longer feel the cold, and the faint headache had disappeared. Now her entire body was setting itself up to either fight or run. Goosebumps appeared on her arms, and her breathing got even shallower, she could feel herself shivering violently and the cool sweat hitting her back like wet leaves.

But she controlled herself.

Grabbing her hand to stop herself shaking, she called out.

"Whose there?"

"You're very late indeed." Alice screamed. The voice suddenly appeared behind her, although she was sure it had been in front only moments ago. A sharp pain burst from her upper arm as she spun around, turning only to darkness. She hissed as her arm began to burn, grabbing it in reaction.

_Alice._

"Wake up Alice!" The voice felt as if it was right beside her. It screamed in her head, rattling her skull and almost allowing another screaming to escape.

The castle walls began to collapse around her.

She could feel the owner's breath down the back of her neck, cold and his voice grating against her ear drums.

"You're bleedin'."

v-v-v-v-v-v-v

"Alice! Wake up! You're bleeding!"

Alice jerked awake; Hatter's confused face looming over her. The disorientation hit her before anything else, so much that she didn't remember who the man in front of her was for several seconds.

"Hatter!" Alice gasped enveloping the man in a hug. He fell backwards, quickly regaining his balance to returning the hug.

"What happened Alice!" he exclaimed when they pulled away, looking at her arm. As Hatter pulled at it – although he was gentle – the pain came rushing back to Alice. A long, deep gash ran across her upper arm, the blood running down onto the white covers, soaking her tunic.

"One minute your sleeping soundly, the next your screaming bloody murder and that –" he motioned to her arm. "appears. You nearly scared me half to death." Hatter continued babbling on, standing while saying something about getting the Queen but Alice was still staring at the gash. It wasn't right, she knew that. This was Wonderland, not Springwood. There was no Freddy Krueger running around killing random teenagers. If that was the case, the Queen of Hearts would be the least of their worries. And yet, the gash was real, the dream **must**have been real, and Wonderland was certainly real.

"I-" she finally replied. "I don't know."

v-v-v-v-v-v-v

She'd been asleep too long. So much time had been wasted with her run in with the Lost Children, time she didn't have.

Time Wonderland didn't have.

The Hierophant sighed as he dispersed the image of the red headed human girl who still stared at the gash on her arm. He was beginning to sound like the White Rabbit of all people, which to most Wonderlanders was an omen. A bad one at that. He twitched his spindly wooden fingers, causing the strings they were attached to, to move above him. He never could explain to people what was holding them up, it tended to be a difficult task if you had no idea how it worked yourself. Stepping away from the Glass, away from the swirling colours and the faces of those the Queen had taken he searched through the books. He needed to find the girl's, needed to know what she feared. He needed her to keep moving.

They didn't have much time, Wonderland didn't have much time, the souls he'd given to the Queen of Hearts whispered in his head constantly, the questions the same with each. Why?

And he couldn't answer any of them.

He regretted what he'd done to the red head, but he knew it was necessary. She would never have woken up if he hadn't cut her, he knew so. He'd seen it.

_Morpheus!_

The Hierophant flinched inwardly, his puppet grin showing no emotion. His Queen was calling him, and he had to answer. Already, her mark was starting to burn his wooden body and the dark haze she'd created twist his thoughts, everything in him pulling him back to the mirror and under the Queen's gaze.

Turning back to the glass, the Queen appeared, her usual flaw free face contorted onto a hideous grimace. Bowing lowly under the weight of her mark, he kept back the bitter remarks he'd used when first put under her spell. The where useless, and he needed her trust to keep the human safe before she arrived at the Looking Glass.

"Morpheus." She spat, gripping the sides on her throne so tight he saw the metal deform.  
"Yes, your Majesty?" he asked, standing as straight as he could. The Queen leant back in her throne, the grimace softening slightly.

"I have a job for you."

v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v


	11. Disturbia

_A Shadow_

_v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v_

_Stealthy as a shadow in the dead of night,_

_Cunning but affectionate if given a bite._

_Never owned but often loved._

_At my sport considered cruel,_

_But that's because you never know me at all._

_What am I?_

v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v

"He _attacked_ me in my _dream_, giving me _this_ and you're telling me to calm _down_!" Hatter watched as Alice paced the bedroom, pressing the gauze the Red Queen had applied to her arm tightly as told. Blood still seeped out of the white strip, her knuckles white from holding it so tightly. He wouldn't have believed she'd just woken up if he hadn't been there when she had. After sleeping for three days, he'd thought she'd wake up refreshed, ready to face the day, but her state showed otherwise. Her eyes where rimmed red and sunken, her skin was even pastier than before and her hair looked like a Jubbjubb bird had gone after it. The food one of the Chess guards has brought for her lay untouched on the glass table beside the bed. "Not hungry." She'd said, not even looking at the tray.

He didn't like it, this Alice who was deteriorating before his eyes. She didn't even look like Alice anymore, more like an Alice clone that the Lost Children had replaced with the real one. He saw the traces of fear in her eyes as they scanned the room every couple of minutes as if looking for an invisible enemy.

"Alice-" Hatter started.

"No. Don't **Alice** me!" she warned, a twinge of hysteria lacing her voice. "What's going on Hatter! What attacked me? I'm **fed** up of being left in the dark." Hatter couldn't deny the fact that his lack of knowledge was driving him insane-or at least more so- as he always knew **everything**. And now, when he truly wanted to know something, something useful unlike most of the information in his head, he was at a loss, and Alice was paying for it.

"I know as much as you do." He admitted regretfully. "The Red Queen refused to tell me either."

"Why?" Hatter shrugged, slipping his feet off of the bedside table.

"She said something about having to _confirm_ it with her sister." He breathed out an irritated sigh and scratched his head. "How are you feeling?" Alice shook her head, collapsing down onto the bed. She looked so...pathetic.

"Like Crap. Like I haven't slept in days and my head is _pounding_. Terrified at every shadow. God, I don't have _time _for this!" Pushing herself up, she headed for the door. "I've got to go."

"Alice!" Both of them stopped when Alice opened the door. The Red Queen stood in front of them, smiling darkly as she spotted them.

"Ah, you're still awake. That's good. Come. We have much to discuss." She answered Alice's unasked question. Alice opened her mouth to demand and answer, but Hatter pinched her un-bandaged arm.

"What was that for?" she whispered to Hatter as they walked behind the Queen.

"Just be quiet and follow her. You don't want to **anger** your only ally now." Yanking her arm out of Hatter's grasp, Alice muttered nonsense under her breath, trying to ignore the images that had continued to haunt her outside of the nightmare.

_It was only a dream Alice. Only a dream._

Yet the shadows still slinked around her, appearing at random intervals. The corners suddenly became monstrous creatures, hissing and snatching at the edges of her silver tunic as she walked passed.

_Alice._ They hissed.

"_They aren't real."_ She muttered.

_A-a-a-lice._

"Alice?"

_Alice._

"I'm fine." She replied automatically to Hatter's soft shaking, as the shadows slipped away. Without thinking she grabbed onto Hatter, his presence and the heat from his hand comforting her. _He's real. Hatter's real. They aren't real. _Finally calm, Alice cleared her throat.

"Do you live here with the King?" she asked, looking ahead in an attempt to ignore the shadows. _Turn your back on them, and they'll disappear._

The Red Queen chuckled.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious." Alice remarked, flinching as she felt something tug at her tunic. _It's not the shadows, it's not the shadows. It's not the shadows._

The Red Queen smirked softly before replying. "My sister has never married. And my own king recently died."

Alice cringed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." She scoffed. "I had him killed." Alice almost paused, not sure if she'd heard her right. Everything else was twisting around her, nothing could be trusted. _Hatter's real._ Alice opened her mouth to reply, trying to find something remotely interesting to say.

"Oh." But she found no snappy comeback so settled with a limp one, walking slower than necessary behind the Queen.

The Red Queen continued. "He was a lousy husband, and terrible king. I was fed up with his antics so I hired Duchess to get rid of him." Alice assumed that she must have started to stop as Hatter started pushing her forward, his hand now pressed against her back.

"Don't freak now Alice." He muttered into her ear, gripping her hand as he saw her trembling.

"I'm not freaking." She muttered back. "Just...slowing down slightly."

The door to the 'drawing' room was large, ominous, like something from a fantasy film. It's marble look reflect light, repressing Alice's urges to flee back to the room, huddle under the covers and rock herself into gentle insanity. It would have been better than the shadows, better than the dream.

"Ah! Miss Alice! I see your feeling better." Alice couldn't help but grin as the bearded man in front of her stood from his seat near the burning fire place.

"Tobias!" she cried, enveloping the man in a hug, the shadows not forgotten but less of a threat now. "Thank goodness you're okay! What happened to you? How did you get here?" He was definitely real, warm, a factor no dream could replicate. _Hatter and Tobias are real. The shadows are not. _

"I followed Hatter of course." He replied, motioning to Hatter who was batting Lux away as he jumped around him in glee. "The guards never found my cave, they got scared off by a Jabberwocky and set on a new course."  
"_Our_ course." Hatter replied, grabbing his hat off Lux who had stolen it. "That's how they found us, at least according to her _majesties_."

"You say our titles with such bitterness Hatter." The White Queen said softly, floating into the room. "We have done you no harm as of yet."

"_Yet._" Alice heard him mutter as he walked over to Alice.

Her sister smiled and motioned to the table. "Please sit. We have much to discuss." Hatter didn't sit, instead he stood beside Alice, the fact she was still wide eyed not escaping his notice.

"Hatter tells me that you arrived in Wonderland about two weeks ago." The Red Queen said, pouring hot water into a tea cup. Alice nodded carefully, every so often looking to the few dark spots in the room.

"I believe so." Alice replied, taking the tea the Queen offered her.

"Nervous?" Alice looked to the White Queen with a questioning gaze.

"You're quivering Alice." Hatter whispered. Realising that the clattering sound she'd been hearing was coming from her cup she placed it in the small table beside her, dropping it as if it was a dead animal.

"How did you come into contact with the Lost Children?" the White Queen asked. "We'd think someone with Hatter's knowledge of Wonderland you would have avoided them." Hatter went to reply but Alice butted in, trying to rub out the ache in her head.

"It was my fault. I ran off without thinking it through. I was upset." The White Queen smiled.

"I'm not surprised. The forest can do that to people, especially humans, with you being such emotional creatures. Emotions tend to run wild in the Forest. It's best to ignore them as best you can while inside." The glace the Queen's shared wasn't lost to Alice who lent her head in her hands.

"Please don't keep things from me." She asked softly as she doubled over, massaging her head. "I'm fed up of being left in the dark." The Queen's nodded, the Red Queen replying.

"Very well. Where would you like us to begin?"

"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop." Alice replied with a wave of her hand, sitting up straight as the ache finally ebbed slightly. Both Queen's at opposite Alice, Hatter finally deciding to sit, realising it would take a while to explain everything.

"This entire situation started about 20 years ago." The White Queen began. "Our magic supply began to drain for an unknown reason. It later came to light that our sister, The Red Queen, was abusing her right to power. It had been decided upon out parent's death that all three of us would share the land, and our cousin, Duchess would be our...back up if you like. If one of us should die before a successor was decided then she would take charge."

"Our sister has always been a vain, gluttonous, creature." The Red Queen spat. "It never came as a surprise when we discovered she was behind everything. But we never expected her to do it in such a way. She is destroying Wonderland with her pursuit of beauty and power. When she realised that her acts were killing Wonderland she stopped using up the resources here, and looked to the human world instead."

"She has been bringing in humans every three years, when her power starts to drain. We are the only ones who know of the human's presence in most cases, and sometimes we have sent them home but most of the time our sister gets to them first ...they are killed. Now, we ... you were brou... here b..." Alice shook her head in an attempt to disperse out the fuzz that blocked the Queen's words. Their lips were still moving, she could see that much, but it was as if nothing came out.

"He is our..sist...strongest ally..."

Alice knew that what she was seeing wasn't happening – correction, **couldn't** be happening. Things like that just didn't happen, even in Wonderland. The world couldn't just change itself, morphing into a twisted nightmare Krueger would be proud of.

_Maybe I _am_ just dreaming_. She thought. _After all, dreams are supposed to make little to no sense, _the voice in her head a whisper, as if the very **idea**was ridiculous, unthinkable.

She watched with wide eyes as the shadows slinked across the floor, worming their way between the chair legs as the Queens continued to talk, oblivious to the shadows' presence. That being said, even Alice couldn't look at them directly before they disappeared. Instead they appeared at the very corner of her eyes, disappearing when Alice took a look, like a child playing hide and seek. They knew you could see them, take joy and pride in that fact, yet they continued to hide, teasing you with each glance they allow you to have.

"They aren't real." Alice muttered, trying to focus on what the Queen's where saying yet every word was just a mumble, as if she was listening underwater. "They aren't **real**."

The lights went out.

The gulp of air she took in, felt like solid panic. She'd never expected panic to have a taste, or even a texture, but it did. Dark and bitter.

"Hatter." She whispered, as if talking to loudly would attract the shadow's attention.

"Hatt-" she pulled back as light flooded the room, blue and grey as if someone had just switched on the moon.

Alice was so close to screaming that her chest physically ached in the attempt to keep it down. This was **wrong**. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, **wrong**.

Pushing herself up, she scrambled out of the chair, trying to get as far away from Hatter as possible. _But it _wasn't_ Hatter_, she reminded herself, _this isn't real. _

Yet it felt real. So real that the idea that she'd hurt Hatter made her feel sick.

The spot where his hand should have been was empty, collapsed into ash when she'd touched him. But he wasn't the only one, The Queens, Tobias and Lux were also frozen into statues, and she had no doubt that if she touched them they'd go down to.

The entire room looked like it was going to collapse any second, the walls covered in ash, mould and dirt, some of which falling onto the rotten food and dirty plates that covered the table. Everything looked like it was covered in snow, but she knew different.

Snow didn't smell of death.

The dark chuckle that echoed around the dead room wasn't the same as the one she'd heard in her previous dream. This one was darker, more...insane if it made any sense. Before, she was in two minds about whether the...thing – for she could think of no better word for it- was going to hurt her, at least until it dug into her arm. Even then, it didn't kill her, which is could have done easily.

But now, now it wasn't a light laugh, like the one people make when they're not sure whether they should laugh or complain about a joke. It was one you'd expect to hear off the Joker.

It was as if the first dream had been a tutorial level, now that it was over the real game could begin.

"_Alice_." The shadows hissed, flitting around the room, casting bat like shadows against the walls.

Her named was hissed again, but this time it wasn't the shadows. The thing was calling out to her. And it was behind her.

_Turn around_

Alice tensed.

_Turn around Alice._

"_Alice."_ Alice spun around as it called her, yet she met no creature, but a mirror.

It stood in front of her, the pane glowing a pale blue as it swirled with whites and silvers, shimmering in the darkened room.

The mirror was antique; she could guess that much from the ornate design of the frame. Fruits, plants and strange grinning creatures curled around each other were carved into the wooden frame, stained a burnt copper colour.

Cautiously, Alice stepped closer to the glass, pressing her hand against the cold pane.

"_ALICE!"_ In Alice's head, she was screaming as loud as she could, yet really, she was silent, her scream no more than hot air being forced out of her lungs.

The creature's face was right up against the glass, but the on the other side as if it lived inside the mirror, trapped there. She tried to move her hands away but they stuck against the glass, the thing's face was as close to the pane as it could get without coming outside of its world. It looked like a puppet hanging upside down, that was the first thing that registered in her mind as it kept up the sinister grin. Tattoo's in pale blue covered its dark gray 'face' as it blinked as a reptile would, a pale glassy film covering its black eyes. Tipping its head to the side it hissed darkly.

"ALICE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!"

Next thing Alice knew she was tackled to the floor, the creature's gray claws wrapped around her neck, digging into her skin. She felt the muscles in her neck tighten and release as its grip got tighter. Suddenly it gave way.

"_Find the Cheshire Cat."_ Alice stopped struggling for a second, to stare the creature in the eyes. "_He'll show you the way."_ The pressure returned as Alice screamed, this time the sound vibrating throughout the room.

_Hold her down._

_What's going on?_

_He's attacking her._

_What!_

_Hold her down I said!_

"Let...go." Alice choked, the creature's feature's beginning to fade into one another.

_Find the Cheshire Cat. He'll show you the way._

Alice gasped as the pressure on her neck disappeared, replace with cold air that rushed to her lungs. Her eyes snapped open to find the White Queen hovering over her.

It was gone.

The thing was gone.

Bolting upright she grabbed her neck, blood transferring onto her hand. Everyone was silent, waiting for Alice to speak.

"I need to find the Cheshire Cat." Alice stood up fast, heading for the door swaying on her feet.

"You're not going anywhere." Hatter replied, holding her to stop her from falling over, leading her back to the table.

"Drink this, it will help with the pain." The White Queen said, holding out the tea cup Alice has discarded. Alice took it without complaint, downing it in one.

"I see you've met Morpheus?" The Red Queen said. "He always did like to make and entrance." Alice gave a bitter laugh, rubbing her neck.

"You're telling me." Alice lent her head on the table, the cold marble calming her nerves. The light of the room calmed her more than she'd ever admit. The thick, disturbing smell of death no longer consumed her, the dream land she'd been in was gone.

_I'd never thought I'd be this relieved to wake up._

"What does he want?" Alice said, not looking up. The Red Queen spoke first.

"Morpheus has been working for the Queen of Hearts since she came to power, we believe that she is gaining what power she **has** through Morpheus, although the **how** has yet to be confirmed."

"Our sister often sends him when the card guards fail. You are the latest threat to her so she has sent her most powerful weapon to weaken you."

Alice frowned. "Weaken me?"

The White Queen gave a motherly smile."Everyone is mad here Alice. Everyone except the human's who appear here."

"What are you saying?" Alice chuckled bitterly. "That I'm slowly-"

"Going mad?" the Red Queen answered. "Yes. That's what Wonderland does. If you stay here long enough you will die in a world you create for yourself once the Madness kicks in. I believe our sister is trying to speed up the process."

Hatter watched as the last bit of energy drained from Alice's eyes. He knew that looked, seen it hundreds of times.

She'd given up.

The light in her had died and he'd give anything to let it return. Even if it meant putting pixie dust back there. Hatter turned to the Queen's.

"I should take Alice back to her room." Hatter said, shaking her slightly to rouse her from her dazed state. "It's a lot to take in." The Queens nodded.

"Very well. We'll arrange for a door to be created straight to the looking glass tomorrow. Alice needs to get out of here." Without replying, Hatter lightly tugged Alice along, like leading a child.

"Come on Alice." He said softly. "Let's get you to bed."

Alice followed obediently, the familiar feeling of dread coming over her, but with Hatter beside her she felt herself calm slightly. She could trust him, he would let her die. That decided it. Breathing deep Alice began planning.

She was going to get out of this.

v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v

"Hatter?" Alice started, taking Hatter by surprise. She hadn't spoken for the past half hour, instead taking to staring mindlessly at the ceiling. He didn't blame her, he'd acted the same way.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you." She said, looking to him. "For everything. You didn't have to save me from the..." she paused, trying to remember the name.

"Lost Children." Hatter offered, taking off his hat to fix the ribbon. Dormouse sat sleeping in one of Hatter's shoes beside Alice's bed. Hatter had decided not to disturb him with the drama. He was just a little guy after all. Alice looked at him with a smirk.

"Not as in the Lost boys from Peter Pan?" Hatter looked at her over his hat, smiling softly.

"You know Peter Pan?" Hatter asked, now seeming generally interested. "We haven't seen him in **years**. Just disappeared one day. Since then the children have run a mock." He motioned to Alice. "That's why they were after you. They've been looking for a mum since he left, need someone to look after them." Alice laughed.  
"That's probably the nicest thing I've heard all week." She muttered. "At least they weren't trying to eat me."

Alice wasn't surprised at her own calmness, the fact she wasn't shouting or throwing a hissy fit after being told that she was essentially going insane. She'd always managed to keep a level head, that's what made her Alice. Whenever anything went wrong in her family she'd find one family member at the door, begging her to help talk the other into sense. When her mum have been diagnosed with breast cancer she was the one who stayed by her, not crying like her sister had every time she saw her. She worked through it, smiling every step of the way. She decided at a young age not to let anything hurt her, to wait until the end, when everything was finished to feel something. After all crying, or shouting, or swearing wouldn't help anyone, just caused an unneeded ruckus.

But she still expected something, anything, even if it was a tiny swear word.

And yet she was totally calm, watching as Hatter fidgeted with his hat.

"I'm going to miss you, you know." She said with a sigh. "I'm never going to fit in back home, not after all this." She looked back up to the ceiling, the glazed look in her eyes one Hatter knew all too well. He'd seen it so often reflected in his mirror. She was reminiscing, thinking back when she should be thinking forward. To escaping. Surviving.

Watching her he couldn't help but let the tiny thought cross over his mind, whispering softly, like a child whispering a secret.

_You could always stay here. _

But he knew it was a stupid, ridiculous and **insane** idea. If she stayed here any longer she'd die.

_Or end up like you_.

Hatter shivered. That was a fate worse than death.

"Although," Alice mused. "I guess I didn't fit in much anyway." Hatter chuckled, fiddling with the ribbon on the hat as the idea of Alice being like him continued to haunt him. What if she did? The Madness didn't affect him **that **badly, he had good days and bad days like most people.

But she had Morpheus in her head.

"You should –um-probably go to sleep." He said standing suddenly, breaking the silence. Alice looked at him oddly.

"Are you okay Hatter?" she asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

_No, just heard a very disturbing thought._

"Just noticed the time that's all." He laughed shakily. "I'll be next door if you need me." And he was gone.

Alice scoffed, looking back up to the ceiling. There was no way she'd be sleeping tonight.

"Deciding not to sleep I see." A smooth voice called out. Alice jumped up as she scanned the room with panicked glances. "Although," the voice came again, a set off large teeth appearing at the end of her bed. "I don't blame you." Narrowing her eyes, Alice pulled her feet towards herself, staring at the teeth with caution.

"I know it's you Cheshire." She said. "No need to hide with the fancy act." The cat chuckled, his head and body appearing from the purple clouds.

"Such a sharp wit for someone with a men-tal hospital in their future." He said, his tail flicking at the smoke. "And after you invited me as well?"

"I never invited you."

The cat chuckled. "Are you sure? I'm positive I heard my name being called." Alice paused. This is what she'd wanted, to find the Cheshire cat. To know what everyone else did.

"I called you once." Alice remembered. "But that was almost an hour ago."

The cat looked at his paws, spinning upside down. "And you've been in company for an hour. After all I don't have the cleanest slate." Looking at her wound her disappeared from his spot at the end of the bed and appeared beside her.

"I see that Morpheus has been sent for you. Caused you some pain?" he motioned to her bandage, his eyes watching it in a way she'd only ever seen in a cat.

_Strange seeing cat like tendencies in something that acts so human. _

"Um, yes." She replied, the cut all but forgotten. "But it's not that bad. It won't stop me from getting to the Looking Glass." Cheshire laughed loudly, spinning around in the air.

"Such a brave one. I trust you know that the Looking Glass has been moved?" he said. Alice nodded.

"Yes I-"

"And that its current location in none other than Morpheus' lair?"

"Wha-"

"And that you need a key to let the mirror take you home."

"Okay, that-"Alice froze. Morpheus' words still swirled around in Alice's head. Now it made sense. Maybe Alice's first impression was right. Maybe he wasn't trying to kill her. Maybe he was trying to show her they way home.

_And pigs can fly Alice._

Shaking her head, Alice turned to Cheshire, smiling as wide as he was. "That's why I was told to find you," she said. "That you can 'show me the way'. You know where the key is, don't you?" Alice didn't know that cat's could frown, and Cheshire's expression certainly looked like one. However, Alice had never seen a smiling cat either.

"Hmm? Who told you this?" he questioned.

Alice stared back, trying to match his intensity. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." The cat watched her for a while, as if trying to detect her lies. Finally his looked away, clearing his throat.

"Very well. I will take you to the Caterpillar, he'll know how to help you."

"The Caterpillar? What can he do?"

"Depends on what you need him to do." The cat replied, holding out his paws. . "Come on, there's lots to do and so little time." Alice paused for a moment, considering whether she should go and get Hatter. He'd helped her so much since she arrived here, saved her life many times.

_But this is your problem, not his._ Realising she was right, Alice stood.

_And anyway, it's only a short trip. I'll be back before he knows it. I hope._

"How does this work?" Alice asked, slipping on a pair of shoes beside her bed.

"Simply hold onto me and I'll take you where you need to go. Everything will work out as it should from there." He replied. Alice nodded, taking one last look at the door.

"I'll be back here before he knows right?" she asked. Cheshire didn't reply as he held out his paws.

"Are you coming?" Taking a deep breath, Alice held onto the cat.

_Here goes nothing. _

v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v


	12. The Caterpillar

_A Cat_

v-v-v-v-v-v-v

_I soar without wings. I see without eyes. I've traveled the universe to and fro. I've conquered the world, yet I've never been anywhere but home. What am I?_

_v-v-v-v-v-v-v_

The journey from the Castle to some forest in Wonderland wasn't the most relaxing experience Alice had ever had. It was like going through the Looking Glass again, a greatly disturbing feeling as if every nerve ending was on overdrive or like being pushed on a roundabout at light speed. Everything blurred around her until it came to a sudden stop, sending Alice's stumbling forward as her feet hit ground, landing on the soft moss and grass of the forest floor.

Alice groaned as the world spun erratically, the feeling of vertigo not passing as she tried to stand only to collapse in a heap. The Cheshire Cat chuckled behind her.

"Good show, I have to say." He teased, giving a mocking applause. "Most people throw up the first time round." Alice didn't honour him with a reply as the vertigo faded, her skull pounding ferociously as she stood.

"The headache will fade in a while." Cheshire assured her as she pressed a hand against it to make sure it wasn't bleeding. "You should be fine by the time you reach the Caterpillar." Alice stood up straight with a groan as her aching muscles stretched, breathing in the damp earthy smell around her.

She didn't recognise were she was, everything in Wonderland seemed to change depending on how you looked at it. For all she knew she was back where she started, or with the Lost Children.

Alice shivered, that was not an experience she ever wanted to relive.

"Where are we?" she asked as she brushed off her tunic.

"No were near the Lost Children if that's what you're worried about." Cheshire smiled widely at her as he spun upside down, quickly disappearing and reappearing a bit away. Alice followed without question, running up behind him and constantly looking behind her back. There were more shadows in the forest than there were in the light filled white castle, and she could feel them following her, hissing in her head. Their voices getting louder and louder the longer the silence went on.

_BrOKeN LiTtlE AliCe_. They hissed. _AlL aLoNE iN tHe dArkNEsS._

"Unfortunately," Cheshire said with a theatrical bow. "This... is where I leave you." The voices faded as Alice looked to the grey and purple cat, now lounging in one of the trees.

"What?" said Alice. "But I don't see anything?" the cat let out a humorous sigh, spinning upside down to stretch.

"It seems my part is over. I was only to bring you here. The rabbit will take you the rest of the way. He's knows where to go better than anyone." Both of them turned at the sound of crashing from the long grass at the side of the path, only the tips of two white ears popping out like periscopes, looking out from the safety of the grass.

"I'm late! Oh my, my, my, **dreadfully** late indeed."

Cheshire chuckled. "He always was an **ec-c-c**en-tric one." He looked back to Alice with his ever present grin.

"Before we part," Cheshire said. "I want to apologise for leaving you with the Lost Children. They always **did** go a bit too far." He grinned wide, his sharp teeth gleaming in the low light.

"Till next time, Miss Alice." And he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The rabbit appeared as Cheshire left, crashing through the tall grass in a panic. He looked around in an alarmed daze, holding his pocket watch in a death grip as he trembled.

"Y-you must be Miss Alice." He stuttered, glancing at the watch again. "It's p-pleasure to f-finally meet you f-face to face. The name's S-sir Hopkin, at your s-s-s,"he paused, mouthing the word softly before trying again. "s-service." he sigh in relief at finally saying the word. Pocketing the watch he hopped over to the path in front of them. "But you are a-awfully late so we really must get going."

Alice frowned. "How am I late?" she asked, following him as he hopped quickly down the path.

"You s-should have been here w-weeks ago. I spent the e-entire afternoon h-hiding from that..." he shuddered "m-m-m-," he paused again, "m-monster of yours and I'm left w-waiting for weeks until y-you arrive." Alice frowned, running to catch up with him. "I had to reschedule everything, w-which was not an easy feet I a-assure you."

"What are you talking about...wait..." Alice's eyes widened as it snapped in her head. Glowering, she pointed to the rabbit accusingly. "it was you?" the rabbit jumped up at Alice's tone, hopping further away from her but still staying in her line of view.

"It...it was...u-under order's I a-assure you." Before Alice could question him, the rabbit took out his watch again. "Come one, we're dreadfully late." The rabbit continued along, not wanting to talk to Alice any more than necessary. She couldn't believe that it had actually been the White Rabbit that had brought her here. That was just too much of a coincidence, too much like the story to have happened by chance. How on earth did he even get into her shop in the first place?

"Why me?" Alice asked. "Why did you lead me to the mirror?" Hopkin hummed to himself, as if trying to block out Alice's voice. Glowering at the rabbit, she grabbed him by the back of his red waistcoat, lifting him up so he was facing her.

"Why me?" she repeated. Hopkin stuttered frantically.

"I-I-I told you I-I-I was under o-orders." Alice dropped him as he stuttered and stammered out his explanation, gripping the pocket watch in a death grip.

"The C-caterpillar ordered me t-to. You can a-ask about it when w-we get t-there." He stroked the watch with gentle care as they started walking again, only looking to Alice to make sure she was still there.

Alice's could barely tell one thought from another, as they all came and went so quickly, only the faintest trickle of remorse for scaring the poor thing sneaking in. After all she got answers, faster than she'd had before. Her coming here hadn't been the coincidence she'd thought it was. She could feel herself start to tremble, her nails digging into the palms of her hands in an attempt to control herself. She was fed up of being left in the dark, of being led around like a dog on a leash.

"What-" Alice started as the rabbit stopped walking, causing her to almost run into him. She went to complain when a deep groaning sound interrupted her. It came from behind the thick bamboo like trees that were in front of them, marking the end of the path. She looked down to see Sir Hopkin taking a couple of steps backwards before looking at his watch.

"Nothing f-for it." He sighed. "We'll h-have to g-go through him." Alice frowned.

"Through who?"

"The M-mock Turtle," Hopkin said, looking up to Alice. "You'll s-see."

As Alice pushed through the greenery that blocked the rest of the path, a rather large creature came into view. It looked like a turtle, however it's calf like feet seemed like a last minute thought, like the creator got bored and ran rampant, creating a strange cross between a calf and a turtle.

"Don't s-say anything," the rabbit whispered, "and w-we should g-get out of here w-within the minute." The creature's eyes were closed as it hummed a sad tone –out of key mind you – swaying from side to side with the sound. Hopkin's made a motion for Alice to be quiet, tugging her tunic to get her to move. It was as she stepped closer to the creature, that a sharp, acrid smell assaulted her nostrils. She'd never smelt anything like it before, almost like rotting garbage or meat. The only thing she'd expected that would come close to it was the carrion flower, but she'd never experienced that stench first hand and if it was anything compared to this she didn't think she wanted to.

"**Once**," Alice jumped as the Mock Turtle cried out suddenly, "I was...a real...turtle." It spoke like a Broadway performer, emphasising each word perfectly as if they all have equal meaning for what he was trying to say. She didn't understand how it could even have seen them, its eyes were still closed and he was still swaying from side to side.

Hopkin's gave out a sad sigh as he looked at his watch. Alice thought she heard him say, Nothing for it, but she didn't voice this opinion. She still felt guilty for scaring him earlier.

It was silent for a while, the only sound coming from the turtle's sobbing. It went on for so long that Hopkin began pulling on her tunic again to get them away, covering his nose with his jacket.

"When I was little," he carried on at last. "I went to school in the sea. The master was an old turtle, we used to call him Tortoise-"

"Because he taught you." Alice interrupted. The Mock Turtle's eyes snapped open. He watched Alice with curious interest, slowly turning to Hopkin.

"This girl's a sharp one. What's your name?" Alice paused for a moment, unsure whether to tell him her real name. With the reception she'd got when she told Hatter, and with the Queen after her, she wasn't sure telling him her name was a good idea, after all Alice didn't seem to be a common name in Wonderland. Although, he did seem to be a bit of a ditz.

"Alice." She replied. The turtle's eyes grew distant as they began to fill with tears again.

"I remember the last time one of your kind that came here." He sighed. Alice's eyes widened.

"What do you mean, my kind?" but her questioned fell on deaf ears.

"Was nice company, but left me with that...thing." he motioned over to the side. "Haven't left this spot since you know, watching it like he told me to." The Mock Turtle, started at her for a while but the sadness must have gotten the best of him as he began sobbing again, hiccupping between the tears. Alice didn't try to understand what he was saying, to preoccupied with the fact that the light was dimming around her, the clear sky turning gray. She knew this from before, a storm was coming, they had to work fast.

"I used to love to sing you know." He said sadly, finally overcoming his tears. "I have a song if you'd like to hear it?"

The White Rabbit scoffed, as he looked at his pocket watch in worry, his paws shaking.

"He'll sing at the top of his hat."

"I don't have a hat." The mock turtle replied rather insulted as he turned to Alice. "But if I did I'd sing before it touched the ground." The turtle stood as straight as it could in its tight shell, clearing his throat as he quickly checked to see if Alice was still there.

"Come on." The white rabbit tugged at Alice's tunic as the turtle closed his eyes. "He'll go on f-forever. If we don't leave n-now we'll be d-dreadfully late." As the turtle started on the first note, the rabbit pulled her away through the trees. She could still hear the turtle's monotone voice echo through the forest, a sad and melancholic sound, like mourning a lost friend.

_Beautiful soup, so rich and green,_

_Waiting in a hot tureen!_

"What's wrong with him?" Alice asked as the voice trailed off. The White Rabbit took a while to answer, still looking at his watch in nervous distaste.

"Oh? Nothing. He's a-always like that. He can find s-sadness in every p-possible situation." The rabbit stopped, sparing a small glance for Alice.

"Some believe it was b-because he's been c-charged with guarding t-the gate and hasn't m-moved a day since. Others say t-that he used to be turtle from y-your world, and changed when he came here. But that's r-ridiculous conjuncture of c-c-c-course," he scoffed. "So d-don't go f-feeling sorry for him. He has n-no reason to feel s-so upset." And the rabbit nodded sharply as if the mark the end of the conversation.

_Who for such dainties would not stoop?_

_Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!_

_Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!_

Alice nodded, deciding not to ask about the gate comment. She'd been in Wonderland long enough to know that asking direct questions rarely got you direct answers, and she wasn't in the mood to argue with the rabbit especially after her reaction to his part in her coming here.

"Seems pointless to cry like that," Alice mused mindlessly, "especially when there's nothing worth crying about."

_Beau-ootiful Soo-oop! Beau-ootiful Soo-oop!_

_Soo-oop of the e-e-evening, Beautiful, beautiful Soup_

The turtle's voice finally faded, leaving them both in a gloomy silence.

The White Rabbit continued to fluster about, ignoring Alice's ramble to focus on his own. Every couple of seconds he would look at his watch and mutter something, his ears flopping down, then up, then down again in random succession. It occurred to Alice while watching him that leaving Hatter behind at the castle may have not been her greatest idea, after all she was still a tourist in Wonderland. She had no idea what to expect with the caterpillar, or what to do if something went wrong.

Apart from run of course.

She was about to say something – she wasn't sure of what, just knew that she was going to say something - when Hopkin stopped.

"Here we are," he gave a sigh of relief. "With one minute to spare." He looked up to Alice, his eyes reflecting red in the sun.

"The turtle may s-stink to high Aeron but a-at least he kept e-everyone away."

"This is what he's been guarding?" Alice asked, unable to hide her awe. He'd led her to what looked like a door of a mausoleum, covered in ivy, moss and dirt yet they didn't hide the intricate design underneath. It didn't even look like it would open, shut tight from rust. Alice looked back to the rabbit, who nodded as he stared at the door with apprehension.

"W-we better get g-going then." His voice waved slightly and his ears flopped down again. Alice took a step forward as he fiddled with his ear.

Despite Alice's initial assumption, the door opened easily, feeling more like polystyrene than metal. The room in front of her was dimly lit, the light source seemingly nonexistent yet something was definitely there. Hopkin followed her in, the door slamming behind them as if it had turned to iron once more.

The shadows in the room didn't help her shed the ominous feeling of dread that had been crawling up her spine ever since Hopkin's true identity came to light. If Hopkin had been under orders to get her to Wonderland that meant someone wanted her here. She just hoped it wasn't the Queen of Hearts.

Alice sucked in desperate gulps of air as she stepped closer in the menacing shadows that took up most of the space, moving with her as if just waiting for her to get close to them, before pulling her into the darkness.

_BrOkeN lITtlE aLiCe. _

One thing Alice had always noticed about the dark –even before the nightmares- was how it seemed to take on a personality of its own. It shifted and changed the most mundane things into ominous objects that stalked every move that was made. She'd never had a fear of the dark before the nightmares, but now...now the shadows really had taken on a form. She could see the shadows move, reaching out into the light but unable to go all the way towards Alice.

_lOnELy liTtLe aLicE. _

She felt as if she'd just walked into a dead person's home, a strange feeling of foreboding causing goose bumps to rise on her arms. Disturbed dust floated thickly in the air around her; the walls of the derelict mausoleum covered in moss, ivy and burn marks, yet not as damp smelling as it had been out in the humid air of the forest. Leaves littered the floor of the circular tomb, the two sarcophagi between the pedestal covered the dirt and an ash like substance. As the rabbit hopped over to the pedestal, Alice brushed off some of the dirt on the lid in an attempt to find any identifying features.

The names on the stone coffins were gone. It looked like they had been scraped off in a fit of rage. It would explain the other marks on the dilapidated coffins and the scorch marks that were left from whenever the apparent attack had occurred.

_Whatever happened here, _Alice thought morbidly,_ couldn't have been good._

"N-n-n-now." The rabbit stammered, his ears still down as he held onto them. "T-t-take this." Alice couldn't see what he was motioning to – either could he though; the pedestal was taller than him- yet she cautiously stepped forward.

_LitTle AliCe aLl alOnE in WoNdeRLanD._

Alice's hands shook as she walked towards the pedestal, the hissing becoming more and more distorted. Alice crinkled her eyes as the object came into view. A simple pocket watch, covered in a thick layer of dust and ash from lying dormant for so long, sat on the stone pedestal. It also seemed to have taken most of the beating in the room, everything but the watch severely scorched.

But it still worked, she now noticed its tick echo though the room. She vaguely wondered how long in had been there, trying to identify its age through its markings.

_pOoR bROkeN LiTtlE aLiCe_

"Go on." Hopkin said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "T-take it." She looked to the rabbit, unsure as to what any of this meant. She'd gone with Cheshire to find the Caterpillar, not a watch, but she reached out for it anyway.

Suddenly the room was engulfed in light. When her sight came back to her she saw that the pedestal the watch was on was lit, the intricate design now glowing blue.

"What's going on?" she asked, yanking her hand back.

"J-just take it Alice." The rabbit stuttered. "Caterpillar w-won't see you unless y-you have it." Alice was tempted to ask why, yet she refrained herself.

_You'll be fine Alice. You'll be fine._

The light went out as she touched it, everything dimming again. She looked to Hopkin's, his face conveying the disappointment she knew he was feeling.

"Was something supposed to happen?" she asked him, brushing some of the dust off the top. She gasped softly as the watch suddenly warmed up, almost burning her skin. She went to drop it when it snapped open, a pale blue light shooting upward as a soft twinkling sound came from it.

"What's going on?" Alice whispered. Looking down, she was taken aback when she was the look of relief on Hopkin's face, his ears starting to rise up again.

"D-don't worry t-this is a good sign Alice." The music coming from the watch was like that from a music box, the sound melancholic, ominous.

The light grew, until Alice could no longer see. She covered her eyes in a desperate attempt to protect them, the level of the music growing with the light.

Hopkin's voice's came faintly through the fog but it was quickly fading.

She jerked forward as the ground moved, almost sending her tumbling forward.

She could no longer hear rabbit, only the faint sound of the watch accompanying her.

Then she was gone.

v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v

Alice slowly lowered her arm.

The light had dimmed, no longer blinding her but bright enough to still irritate her eyes. She was no longer with rabbit, she was sure of that, but everything else was still a blur, spinning around in her head making her dizzy. Fog surrounded her, the dying grass under her feet the only identifying factor. Everything else was hidden behind a cloud that was so thick that she could barely see two feet in front of her.

But she wasn't alone.

In front of her stood a woman, middle aged was Alice's first guess but she couldn't see much under the dark blue patched hood that hide most of her features from view.

"Welcome Alice," the woman said, her voice fluid and monotone, her hand movements expressive. "I have been waiting for you."

Alice shook her head in an attempt to disperse the lights flickering in her eyes, finally lowering her arm; the watch clasped tightly in her other hand as it continued to play its music.

"Who are you?" the woman bowed her head softly.

"My name is Athena, and I am here to help." The light dimmed slowly around her, turning to a soft ethereal glow. A small breeze tugged at Alice's hair, cold and bitter, seeming so strange for such an isolated place.

"Where am I?" Alice said carefully as looked around in an attempt to find anything she recognised, but the fog hid everything but Athena from her sight.

Athena motioned to the fog around her, never once looking up to face Alice directly. "You are inside the Looking Glass, the point between your reality and this."

Alice blinked. "But...how-"

Athena interrupted. "The pocket watch brought you here. It recognised you for what you are." Alice's eyes narrowed as she focused on the woman in front of her, the woman's small smirk intimidating. She'd seen it before on teachers and lecturers at University, the sense of moral high ground that only those who know more seem to possess.

"What are you talking about?" Alice asked accusingly, the small screech to her voice not lost to her.

"The pocket watch opened to your touch," Athena replied as she motioned to its place in Alice's palm with a wave of her hand, "as it would at **no one** else's. That watch doesn't open to just anyone Alice. In fact it has not opened in over six hundred years."

Alice looked down to the watch in her hand, still glowing with a blue light as playing the soft music. "Come," Athena said, motioning to a pedestal that had appeared in the centre. Just like the one in the mausoleum.

"There are things you must see." Alice stepped forward cautiously, the music twinkling ominously from the watch as it still glowed blue. Through the light she could see the moving parts of the clock face, little people waving as a cat sat in the tree above, its tail moving hypnotically. It had cooled down from when Alice had taken it, now radiating a comfortable heat onto her palm.

"What does this mean?" Alice didn't look up to see Athena's reaction, choosing instead to frown at the watch.

Athena waved a hand over the bowl of water on the pedestal, the liquid starting to glow like the watch.

"It means that you are the champion Wonderland needs."

Alice scoffed, waiting for the punch line. But none came.

"Look," she started, as she looked up "I can see you eyes are bad." She motioned to the bandage wrapped around the woman's head, covering her eyes. "But I'm not exactly Champion material."

Athena grinned.

"Being a true champion isn't about the physical appearance Alice." she replied. "You are a strong soul. You have faced everything you have come into contact with. You admit your fear, and yet still stand strong. If that isn't champion material then maybe my eyes are worse than I thought."

Alice shook her head. "Hero's don't exist."

"Your world must be a sorry place indeed if people no longer believe in heroes."

"They're just stories," Alice scoffed, "made up to entertain people."

"That may be in your reality, but here they do exist, even if they are few and far between." Alice frowned as she took a step back.

"What are you?"

Athena paused. "What I am is unimportant. What is, is stopping the Queen before she destroys not just this reality, but yours as well." Raising her hand she touched the top of the water with her index finger. Alice leant forward in awe as Hatter appeared in the water before her. He was still in the castle, pacing her empty room as Tobias talked behind him and Lux hopped beside him as if he was play a game.

"You already have two close and loyal friends," Athena snapped Alice out of her staring, giving a small cool smile. "who will follow you were ever you may lead them. The High Wizard Tobias, and Hatter. Although this is a start, it will not be enough to stop the Queen."

Alice scowled. "What am I supposed to do?" she asked. "The way you're talking it's as if I have to raise an army." Athena nodded.

"That's exactly what you must do. In order to get home you must have full control of the Looking Glass, the power only the Queen has at this time. For you to leave, the Queen must fall. And you'll need allies to do this, people who will follow you in an attack against the Queen, in order to succeed. You currently have Morpheus on your side but his resolve is failing him. You will not have him as an ally in your final battle. But people have already started to hear of you presence, some who know of the old Champions already convinced of you status. It will not take much to convince them of what you are."

Alice frowned, taking another step back as she held the watch close to her.

"Why should I trust you?" she asked. "How do I know you don't work for the Queen." Athena smiled.

"You arrived in Wonderland through a mirror that was sent your shop anonymously, correct?"

"Yes." Alice replied cautiously.

"And you followed what you believed to be a cat into the mirror." Alice nodded again.

"But it was just the White Rabbit." Alice said, Athena nodded.

"Did you ever wonder why Sir Hopkin was in your home in the first place?" Before Alice could reply Athena place her finger back onto the water and another vision appeared. Alice saw Wonderland through the water, not as dark as the one she knew.

_This is what Wonderland was like,_ Alice thought, _before the Queen. _

"Wonderland is dying Alice," she said as Alice watched the water. "You know this, just as those who live here do. But now, your world is dying as well." The picture of Wonderland slowly changed, no longer the bright world it was, but turning more into the Wonderland she knew. Castles collapsed under their own weight, the sky colour dimming and forests dying, everything that came into contact with the Queen bending to her will. "It is being affected by the Queen's abuse of her powers. If we don't stop the Queen, Wonderland and your world will be lost forever." The vision faded away as Athena stopped speaking. Alice looked up, Athena's bandaged eyes still looking down.

"There are not many in Wonderland who know of my presence. My memory fades from their minds quickly, but there are three in Wonderland that know of me, and have been helping me in my search for the champion."

"How long have you been searching?"

"For the past 20 years," Athena said, "ever since the Queen's activities came to light. Sir Hopkin is one of the few that know of me. I had him go to through the Looking Glass and bring the champion to Wonderland.

"Why me?" Alice asked. "Why did you send him to **my** home in the first place?"

"I have been searching through all the realities in search for a champion, but so far all of them have failed."

"But Hatter said there hadn't been a human here for hundreds of years."

"Not that he knows of. I have brought them here in secret. With the help of Morpheus I was able to see them through their dream. That was until I found you."

Alice shook her head. "I don't remember."

"You wouldn't. As I said I fade from memory quickly. I found you through a massive power surge from your reality. After many months I was able to pin point your location. Unfortunately Morpheus had been tainted by the Queen and was unable to get me into your dreams, so I had to take a more direct approach. I sent Sir Hopkin to get you."

"You're the one who sent me to Hatter's." Alice stated.

"Yes. Athena nodded. "I knew that you were the cause of the power surge without **any** doubt, I now needed to see what you were capable of."

"I couldn't have impressed." Alice chuckled humourlessly, hysteria rising in her voice. "I was almost caught several times, panicked in the face of danger and was saved by Hatter twice. I'm not exactly champion material."

"But you made it here." Athena interjected. "That is more than any human ever has. All the others have fallen to the Queen and died. You have made it passed many trials, and you are all the better for it."

Alice gave a humourless laugh. "Yeah, I now flitch at every shadow and will never trust a clown again in my life."

Athena smiled. "Your 'enthusiasm' astounds me," she replied sarcastically, "yet you have an inkling, don't you?" Alice noted the teasing aspect of the woman's voice, despite its soft and motherly tone. "That watch awakened something in you. Even you can't deny how it reacted to your touch, and how you were able to survive in Wonderland for so long." Athena stopped talking, pausing as if listening to the wind.

"I don't have much time." She said. "You must gain allies Alice. The Queen of Heart's must be stopped. It is not just this reality at risk now, but yours as well." Slowly, she motioned to her side a small glass table appearing, a green apple on top. "One side will make you smaller the other will make you larger." Alice blinked as her eye brows went up. "But use it sparingly, this is the only one you will get, and you will need it in your coming trials."

Alice frowned as she picked up the apple. "Trials?"

"I can see what will be, but the Queen's powers are stronger than they've ever been. She is able to block me from seeing her plans, but not from seeing their results. You will need everything in you to survive this Alice, and you will need to accept what you need to do. If not, Wonderland will fall and your world will die."

"Not much pressure then?"

Giving another unnerving smile, she bowed softly to Alice.

"You will return here went the time comes." Alice nodded as she looked back down to the apple in her hand.

_The Caterpillar won't see you unless you have it._

"You're the Caterpillar." She said, looking up. "Aren't you." Athena nodded.

"I have many name's, Caterpillar is but one."

"How come your-"

"No time for questions now." She interrupted. "You must return to White Castle, and gain allies. Start with the Queens, once they are on your side they can help you find others." Alice let out a trembling breath and nodded.

"Before I go," Alice started. Athena cocked her head to the side. "What happened to them? Your eyes." Athena pursed her lips as she clasped her hands in front of her.

"Once my kind reach out final stage, our eyes become unneeded and removed."

"Y-you..." Alice trailed off, taking a breath to brace herself. "Cut them out?" Athena nodded.

"This cloth is not for nothing Alice." She raised her hand the white light growing once more

"Now go."

v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v


	13. Cat and Mouse

_Imagination_

_v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v_

_I tolerate the moon and stars, I scare children the most, banish me with touch light and see me turn and run? What am I?_

_v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v_

The clock struck thirteen.

The vibrant echo of the clock's chime echoed throughout Wonderland, the Queen of Heart's castle trembling from the sound. Paintings fell from their places on the wall, vases crashed to the ground and the card guard stumbled as the ground moved under their feet.

Ornate and ominous, the towering double doors shuddered open as the guards entered the Queen's throne room.

Like most of the castle, the throne room was adorned with reds and gold's. Dark red drapes edged in gold, fell down from the ceiling behind the Queen's golden throne. Large ornate windows sat just below the ceiling of the two story room, leaving room for mirrors of different shapes and sizes. They covered every inch of the velvet red walls, reflecting the light from the windows above and sending the light from the two suns around the large room.

The guards marched up the red carpet towards the Queen and saluted when they stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

"Your majesty." They said in perfect synch. The Queen stood at the top of the platform, dressed in her signature gold and red gown as she focused on the guards in front of her. The Queen's Court stood behind her, all adorned in black and greys, each one trying to avoid the gaze of the guards. They had gone silent when the card guards had returned, the fact they were empty handed not lost to them.

"I'm waiting." She said.

One guard stepped forward, the metal of its armour clanking as he knelt onto the red carpet.

"W-we were u-unable to r...retrieve the 'Alice'." It said.

The second of silence was short, but very, very heavy.

The court behind the Queen looked down, ready for the cry of fury to come...but it didn't.

Instead the Queen smiled kindly. With small steps she floated down to the guard, and petted its wrinkled face.

"You...**lost** the girl?" the Queen asked with a flutter of her eyelashes. The guard nodded.

"T-t-t-t-the W-w-w-w-white...Qu-" the card paused as he saw the court shake their heads behind her. "Witch," he corrected himself, clearing his throat. "called territory. W-w-we couldn't g-g-g-get in."

"Of course you **couldn't**," she cooed, kneeling down with him. "After all, a blind **Witch** is very **scary INDEED!**" The entire room flinched as the card guard fell to the floor in a heap, his head at a 180 degree angle from before.

"Cut off his head," she sneered as she looked down her nose at the dead guard. "Then stick it on a pike and display it on the castle walls." She looked up, her topaz eyes now returning to their cold glare. "I want everyone to know what happens when you fail your Queen." The other guards nodded, two running over to their fallen comrade and dragging his distorted body away.

The Queen turned back to her throne and grabbed the mirror off the pedestal beside her, caressing it she sat back into her throne.

"Show me the girl." She whispered. The mirror morphed before her, the swirling colours become solid, focusing on the red head now dress in a white tunic.

The Queen grimaced. "Betrayed by my own blood," she muttered. She leant back in her chair, frowning as the background came into view.

She recognised that forest, the mausoleum little Alice was coming out of. That of her poor, kind, **dead** parents.

Looking up, she smiled at the guards still with her.

"She's currently in the forest between Hartland and the White Sands, near my parents graves. Find her and bring her to me." The guards saluted yet didn't move.

"**NOW!**"

The Queen smiled as the guards scrambled out of the throne room, each one toppling over the other in a desperate attempt to escape the Queen's wrath.

"Leave me."

The court paused and looked to each other.

"Your majesty?"

"Leave!" without another word the court obliged. The Queen leaned back in her throne, Alice still shown in the glass.

"What game are you playing little Alice?"

v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, again. I've been looking through the story often since I've had the chance and I'm not totally happy with what I've posted. It seems a bit wishy washy, without much of a reinforced plot and too whimsical. Also, I feel that Hatter isn't nearly mad enough and either is Wonderland. So, in light of this, I'm wondering if anyone would prefer it if I rewrote the story and repost it over this one, or if I should just continue this version and rewrite the new version later as a separate story. **

**Thanks**

_**i-am-walrus**_


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